September 2006 Babies - growing in front of our eyes!

[Lysettes]

New thread everyone!

Hi everyone! Welcome to those who have recently joined.

Cori, I know exactly what you mean about the wedding photo. A newish friend came round a few wks ago, glanced at our photo and said, 'that's not you, is it?' I know I'll never get back into my size 10 hipster trousers but I can't bear to take them out the wardrobe!

Liquid, saw you went to the trafford centre on a Saturday, brave lady! Still better now than in another few weeks when the queues will be back to the M62!

Tassis, I've been given my eternity ring too! Very beautiful! I didn't know it was just our lot that did it! BTW, your posts make you seem very chilled out. Well done! Hope your DS feels better soon.

Lizzie has also started batting at her baby gym. She's not very accurate but is trying all the same. She's just 8wks and I'm sure DS was a good few weeks older before he attempted to hit them. Maybe girls do these things earlier.

Just an update on our sleep thing. Stopped the dream feed and amazingly she sleeps far better than with it. She goes down at 7, wakes 3-4 then around 6.30. She has done so for a couple of weeks now. I can't quite believe it as DS was an appalling sleeper.

Still exclusively BFing although finding it much harder this time. Can't see me making 6mths this time! Still, it'll be nice to be able to have that second (and third)glass of rioja sooner!

Cruisemum, no suggestions but every sympathy as DS was just the same. I took the easy option and just fed him constantly and to sleep every night. This of course, isn't possible as you say when it's not your first. It was exhausting and fostered terrible sleeping habits but I didn't know what else to do at the time.

Hope it improves soon. I'm sure someone else will be able to offer you better advice soon. We really need an empathetic emoticon for times like this.

dh just come home and now upstairs with ds having got him off to sleep by b-feeding only to have him wake five mins after being in his cot. He is screaming the place down - aaaggghhhhhhhhhh. I'm gonna go crackers!
dh doing no good at all!!!!!!What should I do? I cannot spend the next 3 - 4 months like this? AND I am missing 'I'm a Celebrity'!!!!!!! When I had a moan about it dh said 'no good having a go at me' it's not my bloody fault - you never show any sympathy when I'm under pressure blah blah blah..... Oh F* off!!! Flippin' men Grrrrrrrrr Sorry -= just need a good rant and this isn't nearly doing the job!

Cruisemum - I am so sorry!!!!! If it were me I would definitely do controlled cryng, to the letter. You've GOT to show the baby you're boss. That's harsh I know, but so true. You've got to. I don't believe they can't be "trained", as young as they are. They'll do what they have to, and they'll eventually get a message, when it's given them consistently over time.

As for us, lucky no crying has been involved in our "controlled crying" re getting midnight feeding out of the picture. He'll take the paci as a substitute. He's added an hour & now first wakes at 4:15 but I always push the paci back in - he falls back asleep - & make him wait 'til 6. I know he can do it, since the first morning when he woke for good, at 7, only took 2 oz. Plan is making him wait 'til 6 might push him up even more over the next week. I'll take 5 if I can get it.

Liquid ... based on what you've watched, you might like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Despite what you may be thinking it's actually quite complex, the writing beautifully witty. Not along those lines, we also enjoyed "Sex in the City." Just finished watching it - we're a bit behind.

Lysettes - So sorry. Did damage to my knees with DS1 (stair climbing while pg: Bad Idea). Sports Dr. said I'd need a brace for exercise from then on, which was v. depressing. Found that running in "MBT" shoes didn't hurt my knees, so have been running in them ever since - you might try them, as a last resort. But really, can't imagine that your joints will be that way forever!

We passed a big school bus today on the freeway, slowed down & told DS1 to wave at the children ... they waved back, and he was so excited. Sometimes thinking about the boys' getting any more grown-up makes me incredibly sad ... just to think that this time will be gone forever, though I know that it has to be. Just one of those days for me, I suppose. Sigh.

Desperately trying to decide between a PC and a Mac!! Any suggestions?

Cruisemum....hmm...harsh it may be to some Mums but controlled crying sounds as though it may be needed. We used it for DD from 4 weeks (yes, harsh & cruel perhaps but it worked, after 4 nights she settled herself down etc) & with DS although he cottened on pretty quickly (after just 2 days) & is brilliant at just falling asleep on his own etc. Why not give it a try? It doesn't mean you stand there for an hour listening to him howl rather just keep popping in every 5 mins to reassure him etc & then start to stretch it out over the next few days. They say it takes 3 days to make or break a habit..don't quite know how true that is but may be worth giving it go....if you're up to it emotionally!

I had quite a night with Jack saying that! Maybe a combo of jabs & having a cold but I was up every hour from 2am till 5.30...at that point DD came into out bed ( I did think it was 6.30 so didn't put her back into her bed!). She then went off to the toilet with DH, Jack took an age to settle, well it seemed as much - think it was 6.30....when DD then decides to throw a tantrum in bed whereby she screamed the place down & in the process woke up her brother...ARRGGHHHHH...Mummy wasn't best amused I can tell you! DH has now dropped DD off at nursery, Jack has fallen asleep in our bed so have left him to it whilst I make some yummy porridge!!!

Marls, homemama and Coriander - thank you so much for your support. It feels like a giant cyber hug! Ds eventually settled with dh about 10ish till 5am. It is not so much that he is yelling the place down for hours. He dozes on and off from about 7/8ish but keeps waking himself and looking for boobs. Then he gets frustrated and bobs about and fusses until he gets one! If he doesn't then he cries/yells. When I put him down (once he is asleep) he wakes up five mins later and will only be pacified by suckling. I have tried putting him down drowsy but he gets noisier and noisier and wakes dd who has to get up for school at 7:00am. Very tricky. Dunno if I could hack the cc method though I am quite sure it works and has no long term damaging effects. My Mum is visiting today for a couple of days (she lives about 70 miles away so see her every fortnight usually) so that will help ease the pressure. dh hardly ever in so not much help
Mind you Coriander, it sounds as though you had a hellish night. I really really hope it is better for you tonigh and that it was a one off.. Indulge yourself today.
btw - I am back in size 10's and weighed in at 8st 13 this morning !!!

8 st 13! Wow, I haven't been 8st 13 since I was 17. Mind you, I do seem to be principally made of kryptonite - it's the only explanation for how bizarrely heavy I am. Which probably explains why I'm facing similar issues to you, Lysettes: heavily creaking joints (esp knees) and a slightly tense/tender feeling around the muscles in my groin. Seems I might have to take it very cautiously with my running for the next few weeks.

A tip that worked for me for years and years, Lysette, was always to keep an eye on the clock if you have an ache or pain when exercising and if the pain persists for more than five minutes or gets worse, then stop. Ignoring that last summer gave me my first running injury

Kit is 6 weeks now, so better add him to the list:
MunkiBaby: Fynn Rye, 25th September, 8oz, now 9.2 (7weeks)
largs3 Archie Alfred born 25th September, 9lb1.
Woodelf: 17 Sept, Alexander Leonard, 7lb 6 oz - now gotta be over 11lb (is being weighed on Tues) and 63cm long!
Myrtle1: 20 Sept, Edward James, 7lb, now 9lb 15oz
Lysettes: 14th July, Jacob Alexander, 3lb 2oz
Cruisemum1: Dominic James born 7th Sept 8lb 2oz. Now 13lb's
bristols: Zach Bernard, born 3 September 8lb. Now weighs 10lb 11oz
Pol26: Benjamin Geoffrey (Ben), born 7th Sept and was 8lbs 10ozs
Liquidclocks: Alexander James (Alex), 26th Sept 8lb 11ozs
Marls: Jameson Alexander, Sept. 3rd 7 lbs 11 oz, now 11 lbs 12 oz
Coriander73: Jack Christopher born 16th September 8lb 10oz....two weeks ago he was 11lb 10oz
Compo - Elizabeth, 14th September, 8lb 3oz
Tassis: Lucy Rachel born 15th September... 7lbs 6oz
Gizmo: Christopher Francis (Kit) born 30th Sep at 8lb 7oz, now 13 lb 2 oz

As you can see, Kit is a little porker who has shot up through the centiles and is now on the 98th centile. Bless him, he is a relaxed little soul who is pretty easy to be with: tends to eat every two-three hours and pretty regularly at 11pm, 3am and 6am, but the 6am feed is gradually slipping towards 7am, so I'm hopeful we'll be down to one night feed only pretty soon.

I do really feel for you, Cruisemum, my DS1 was similar and at the time I wondered if it was something I was doing, but with hindsight (and arrival of DS2) it is just their personality. If you feel comfortable with doing it, then a bit of CC might make a world of difference. I hope having your mum around will take some of the pressure off.

Went to the GP for 6 week check yesterday and I was remembering my six week check from DS1 when I was depressed and obsessed with his feeding and weight. Amazing what a difference a bit of confidence makes - I was in and out in about 15 minutes with very little to discuss (except for an interesting moment when he said: "and you have thought about contraception, haven't you - or is having a six week baby enough" and there was a pregnant - hopefully not literally - pause when for some reason I decided to pretend I was 16 again and stare at my feet and blush, rather than discuss my options like the responsible grown woman I am). But! It turns out you cannot win with GPs: having spent DS1 babyhood panicking about weight loss, the GP would like to keep an eye on DS2's weight gain so I have to go back in two weeks time for another weigh in. Ho hum.....

(What's 8 stone 13? )

Cruisemum - 5 am here & he's NOT eating until 6. So of course I have another thought: weaned DS1 off bottle to sippy cup by just not giving him anything else. Took him nearly a full day to catch on but he did. Start in the am, & express the whole day - if he wants to eat then it has to be bottle, period. He'll cave in sooner than you think!

... Keep having to go back in, hold paci in mouth w/one hand & rock co-sleeper with the other!!

Welcome back Gizmo!

Life's so busy! Forgot to even mention Halloween ... DS1 was Nemo and Jameson was a chili pepper. Will have to post photos on Yahoo when get a chance.

Hiya marls...
in the states, we use pounds in weight, of course. but here in the UK, they use "stone". 1 stone is equivalent to 14 pounds.

((where in arkansas are you, btw?))

Loving the idea of a fish themed Hallowe'en, Marls. Actually had some kids come to the door trick or treating (it's not so common over here) and all I had for the poor little blighters were some apples! Bless them, they were still really polite and said thank you, but I could see them thinking it was a bit lame. Must try to remember Hallowe'en properly next year.

...and then after posting that message, i realized that you may have been asking what 8 stone is in pounds...in that case, its about 125 lbs, i think.

so i do apologize if it sounded rude, marls! forgive me! ((maybe i can blame the broken sleep of last night?? heheheh))

wow, what i'd give to be 125 lbs again. who am i kidding?!??! i'd be happy to be 160! hehehehe

Gizmo, sounds like you're in great shape! I am pleased to be back at 10 st (but was 9st 2 when I was 18 so not too bad seeing as I'm 34 this weekend...).

Cruisemum, I really feel for you. It's so hard, esp when DS won't go down drowsy, but wakes up if you wait until he's asleep. Did you say he won't take a dummy? Could DD go and stay with her grandma for the weekend or something to give you a chance to work on it without disturbing her? Or maybe she could wear some earplugs to go to bed? I do that sometimes if DH is due to do the late feed!!

Going to get F weighed today I think. I stood on my grandparents' scales today and think he might be over 12lb, nearer 13 hopefully.

Had to stop DS1 sitting on DS2 yesterday - don't think it was nasty, he just doesn't realise what a 2.5 stone toddler sitting on a 10 week old baby could do, i.e. kill Fraser/crush his ribs. Thank god I hadn't left the room though. It really scared me.

Seriously wondering about stopping bf. F drank 7 oz at 11 this morning from his bottle in about 10 minutes, whereas from me it would have taken at least 45 mins... And DS1 doesn't create so much either. I am beginning to hate expressing.... But I would feel that awful guilt (know I shouldn't...). Sigh.

wow, claire! I know DS2 didn't mean harm, but i can feel/imagine your momentary lapse of dreadful fear when you saw the sitting attempt! phew! I'm glad that you stayed in the room as well! ((i suppose it will be a slightly good story to remember to tell them when they are adults!))

Munki - Thanks for explanation!

Lost a big, long message earlier () ... had said, "Wow! Someone else from Texas? I'm a misplaced Houstonian."

We're in Bentonville for 2 years.

Aside from DH's job, we both LOVE Bentonville. It's absolutely gorgeous in the Ozarks. And safe. And affordable. And people are friendly. Has wonderful seasons. Great schools ...
Would love to come back to stay, if DH could be here without working with W-M.

Claire - I'm just waiting for that to happen with the boys ...

F exactly 12lb. So he CAN sleep all night now. Ho ho ho ho ho I hear him say....

HI guys!
our internet connections been down since last week, so not been around . V. annoying as I'd just started a thread asking for help with DS1's sleeping - it is no better. He is still hysterical and thrashes around as we try and carry him upstairs. We've had success with getting him to his room and putting on his nightlights, which seems to calm him a bit, and then reading to him til he fall asleep - this can take between 40 minutes to an hour. IT's exhausting but the alternative is letting him fall asleep on the sofa which is a routine I don't want to get in to. Unfortunately his daytime nap is out the window. I just can't sit with him upstairs, while DS2 is on his own downstairs, it's just not practical. So we have one Very Very tired boy.
On a positive note DS2 is a little angel (thank god). He is prob about 14lb now - and still only managing til 4 or5am, which I know I can't complain about, but as he's done this from birth, I thought he may go longer now.So I'm afraid Claire, you might have a few more broken nights with your DS for a while lets hope he proves me wrong!
I am thinking of putting DS2 in his own room at night. Partly because I think it may help him to sleep and partly because he is outgrowing his moses basket.
I've added my stats to the list:
Kit is 6 weeks now, so better add him to the list:
MunkiBaby: Fynn Rye, 25th September, 8oz, now 9.2 (7weeks)
largs3 Archie Alfred born 25th September, 9lb1.
Woodelf: 17 Sept, Alexander Leonard, 7lb 6 oz - now gotta be over 11lb (is being weighed on Tues) and 63cm long!
Myrtle1: 20 Sept, Edward James, 7lb, now 9lb 15oz
Lysettes: 14th July, Jacob Alexander, 3lb 2oz
Cruisemum1: Dominic James born 7th Sept 8lb 2oz. Now 13lb's
bristols: Zach Bernard, born 3 September 8lb. Now weighs 10lb 11oz
Pol26: Benjamin Geoffrey (Ben), born 7th Sept and was 8lbs 10ozs
Liquidclocks: Alexander James (Alex), 26th Sept 8lb 11ozs
Marls: Jameson Alexander, Sept. 3rd 7 lbs 11 oz, now 11 lbs 12 oz
Coriander73: Jack Christopher born 16th September 8lb 10oz....two weeks ago he was 11lb 10oz
Compo - Elizabeth, 14th September, 8lb 3oz
Tassis: Lucy Rachel born 15th September... 7lbs 6oz
Gizmo: Christopher Francis (Kit) born 30th Sep at 8lb 7oz, now 13 lb 2 oz
Mabel1973: Freddie Robert born 15th september 10lb - at last weigh in was 13lb 70z

Sorry to hear about ds' sleep problems Mabel. My ds1 gets out of bed a few times after we put him down which is normally okay except when dh goes out and I'm trying to feed/settle dd and try to put him back to bed!!
Cruisemum - {{{{{{hugs}}}}}}} hope you're feeling better today.
Does anyone else's lo hardly nap at all in the day except if out and about? This means dd screams the place doen at about 5pm onwards as she is so tired. I'm sure that's why she's unsettled btw 7-9pm. atm we give her more milk at 9pm which is when she crashes out but I think controlled crying would work. Really pleased some of you are already using it. Dh wants to give it a try but I've been a bit of a wimp so far and worry about waking ds up.

Mabel, poor you with DS1's sleeping - as you say, thank god DS2 is a dream.. Long may it continue. It sounds like he is getting really really over tired and stressed out - so difficult. [big hugs emoticon to you]

Compo, Fraser also seems to nap better in his car seat/pram, but I'm trying REALLY hard to get him to sleep in the cot for at least 2 naps a day - have to use the dummy to achieve it... But even on days when it does work, the half hour between 5.30 and 6 is always a complete NIGHTMARE of crying and back-arching, which only the sound of running water seems to stop...

Had to put DS1 in his room today (cue massive crying attack..) as he again tried to tread on Fraser. I explained that if he did that, Fraser would break and we'd have to take him to hospital. Cue lots of contrite apologising - but I bet he'll do it again tomorrow. It seems to happen late pm when DS1 is really tired...

I've added myself again, as I seemed to have gone awol!

MunkiBaby: Fynn Rye, 25th September, 8oz, now 9.2 (7weeks)
largs3 Archie Alfred born 25th September, 9lb1.
Woodelf: 17 Sept, Alexander Leonard, 7lb 6 oz - now gotta be over 11lb (is being weighed on Tues) and 63cm long!
Myrtle1: 20 Sept, Edward James, 7lb, now 9lb 15oz
Lysettes: 14th July, Jacob Alexander, 3lb 2oz
Cruisemum1: Dominic James born 7th Sept 8lb 2oz. Now 13lb's
bristols: Zach Bernard, born 3 September 8lb. Now weighs 10lb 11oz
Pol26: Benjamin Geoffrey (Ben), born 7th Sept and was 8lbs 10ozs
Liquidclocks: Alexander James (Alex), 26th Sept 8lb 11ozs
Marls: Jameson Alexander, Sept. 3rd 7 lbs 11 oz, now 11 lbs 12 oz
Coriander73: Jack Christopher born 16th September 8lb 10oz....two weeks ago he was 11lb 10oz
Compo - Elizabeth, 14th September, 8lb 3oz
Tassis: Lucy Rachel born 15th September... 7lbs 6oz
Gizmo: Christopher Francis (Kit) born 30th Sep at 8lb 7oz, now 13 lb 2 oz
Mabel1973: Freddie Robert born 15th september 10lb - at last weigh in was 13lb 70z
Clairemow: Fraser William, 2 September, 12 lb

Marls, I just noticed that our DS2s are almost identical in their birthdays, weight etc. Proves that breast feeding/formula feeding make little difference do you think?!

Clairemow, I know what you mean about hating expressing! I struggled this time around & was so relived when I "gave into" a bottle of formula. Yes, I did feel horribly guilty for a few days (esp. when I saw the poos!!) but you know what, he is fine, DH can help me & I can get some more sleep....it's only 5oz compared to all the b/m he's getting!!!

Claire - I'd say!
We're going to start making our own AR formula for last evening feed, using baby cereal ... probably for naught though!

Cori, what happens to the poos??? I'm used to the totally liquid yellow ones that ooze up the back and over the shoulders....

Aha...they have lost quite a bit of their sweet smell (if poo can smell sweet but you know what I mean!) are greener rather than yellow-orange & have (obviously) bits of formula in them!!!!!! Luckily Jack is regular (has his father's bowel habits not mine!) so have only had one up the back thus far!! Let's be honest, it's still a whole lot better than a 2 year olds poo!!!!!