September 2006 Babies - growing in front of our eyes!

[Lysettes]

New thread everyone!

ok, ive found the problem...
Mumsnet keeps adding the underscores in the wrong places in the link when i paste...so i;ve posted the link in the yahoo group page. enjoy!!

Thanks MunkiBaby!!

Time this morning: 28:55. The race was only for women. An 11-year-old girl won the whole thing, time 19-something! It was fun, and that time is def. my personal best right now.

Well ... Jameson will sleep solidly from post-11 pm feeding to around 4:15am, but that's about it before we have to wake up and get him back to sleep. He doesn't get fed until 6 though, regardless.

Meanwhile DS1 is out to destroy our house!!! Things broken, this week alone: laundry room & pantry doors (had to hammer hinges back straight), kitchen cabinet (no idea how to fix), 2 Christmas ornaments & 1 decoration ... also drew all over his wall when I let him have a pencil & paper during "quiet time" in his room - he's only heard us say "only draw on paper" who knows how many times!! Am finally realizing how hard it is to have nice things AND a three-year-old boy in the same house. [exasperated emoticon] My book club is all women at least 15 years older than I am, children in high school and college ... they've said "by age 6 they become quite enjoyable little people." Roll on then - not liking this age of 3 too much.

Oh flippin 'eck! DS wil not settle before 10pm any night and only then when suckled to sleep or rocked. It is sooooooooooo exasperating. As soon as he goes down it is fussing, yelling, crying and more crying. I cannot do this! What am I doing wrong? dh up there now so there is no association with sucking etc. but not having much success (it sometimes does work with dh instead of me but he is rarely in). I just cannot crack it and cannot abide the idea of cc just yet (though I have to do something). I put a thread up to see if anyone had done the baby whisperer thing but only got one response. Any of you had any success? HOW did you do it??? [exasperated and frustrated mummy emoticon]

Marls - re: your ds sleep from 11- 4 - well done! ds will eventually go from 10pm to 5am then again at 7ish but I just cannot get him into his cot before a two - three hour struggle between 7 and 10! Does yours sleep in cot before his 11pm feed? What, out of curiousity, are his nighttime hours?

at the moment, ds is upstairs alone in his room, monitirs on...drifting in and out of sleep. ((i dont normally put him down until 10pm, tonight, i started at 830 so that dh and i could attempt to have some time together...

even though monitors are on, i'm slightly on edge. i suppose its cos its the first time. dh says im being paranoid. ((if he had the same bond, he'd probably feel the same)). dh keeps turning the music up, i keep turning it down so i can hear the monitors. hehehe And of course, i've had to lock the cat downstairs with us...dont quite trust him alone in a room with cat roaming around. ((kitty is a bit jealous now that baby is here!!))

alrighty, i hope i'm not the only one thats had this "first time" feeling!

eeek!

If it helps... DS goes to bed at 9ish, but only sleeps for 20mins but we leave her there, she hardly ever cries so don't have to do cc. She feeds again when we go to bed at 11- 12.But won'tsettle properly till we are there next to her. I dread putting herin her own room. What age should babies go in their own room? We thought when she's sleeping through the night, which she'sdoing, but we're moving in a week sothought there's no pointjust to disrupt her again.

Byu the way... I've just had my first night out w/o DD. Went to pub with a friend and left her at home with DB. I stink of fags and can't feed her now. Have to give her formula which she doesn't really like and soon she's gonna be crying for breast milk. Feel so guilty.

Hi Cruisemum ... honestly with 11 to 4 don't feel like we've accomplished much of anything yet ... but thank you! ...
Approx. 8 to 11 pm sleeps in baby swing (swinging) - That's pretty much where he sleeps all day. In fact, if we want to wake him up, the best way to do it is put him in the downstairs cot!
11pm DH wakes him for feeding, gets him back sleeping in the upstairs cot by midnight, fully swaddled. We don't need to work to get him to sleep. The swing does that for us during the day, and his natural sleepiness does it for us at midnight.
4:15 am or so, wakes fussing - either put paci in mouth & rock cot a bit - or spirit him away to adjoining bathroom floor for CC. DH is able to just tell him softly to go back to sleep, but I can't finesse that.
5:30/45 am - wakes for good. I've fed him as early as 5:45, but if wakes earlier go back to the paci thing (or if he's already in the bathroom, CC again).
CC has, so far, never lasted for more than 5 minutes at a time. It's a long 5 minutes, though.
Really hasn't done US much good to wake to shush him instead of wake to feed him - it's all the same ... but needing to get 3am gone, not encourage it, and I know for sure he can physically do it. DS1 (a.k.a. "Destructo") dropped his at nearly 12 weeks ...

Princesscarrie ... no, no. Don't feel guilty. Feel like you're ba-ack!! Welcome BTW.

Marls - well done! 28:55 is 'in my dreams' stuff for me - couldn't run to save my life!

Cruisemum - what are your day times like - any sort of pattern there yet?

Princesscarrie - don't feel guilty. If you went out for the evening then (hopefully) you'll be happier and if we can all find time for ourselves and be happy then I really believe we can be better parents. Have you tried expressing at all for her instead of formula?

Just to give you all and update (and thanks for all your tips and support) on DS2's sucking problems: I went to a BF clinic where the lady said that hi latch was wrong (wich was obvious really), showed me how to do it right which I could do with her there, but since coming home I just can't replicate it and my boos still hurt like hell. So, I'm throwing the towel in and will express enough for 4 feeds per day but the rest will be formula, no more 'direct' BF as it was hurting so much I was in tears by the end of each feed. The bottle problem has finally been solved, which has helped contribute to the decision now we have one that works - the NUK wide neck latex teat! Finally! Slightly that BF hasn't worked out like I'd hoped but feeling relieved now I've made the decision

Just got to tell my mum now..... [quaking in boots emoticon]!

Hi all, ds sleeping soundly downstairs in buggy (his favourite napping location by far) Munkibaby - re: the bringing bedtime forward to 8:30pm how did it go? Did you manage to get any quality time with dp? I would love to get ds to go to bed by 8:30 but am still hitting 10pm after two hours of fussing and sucking To be honest, if he does go down earlier I am a bit nervous of him waking earlier than ever and thinking it is daytime! Oh the joys of motherhood....
Princess - what does your dd do between putting her up to bed at 9pm and feeding at 11pm? You said she sleeps for approx 20mins - what does she do after that??
Marls - 8pm - 11pm in his swing? Maybe I should try 8 - 10 in buggy? At least he would go to sleep! lol at the way to wake him - put him in his cot! Totally empathise! Does he eventually settle in his cot for night sleep?
Liquid - days with ds are definitely settling down - here is a general run down:
5am wake for feed
7am wake again (either I wake him or he wakes naturally)
8:15 asleep during school run for 90mins mostly. 9:45/10am wakes, feeds, sleeps again after around 90 mins for around 60-90mins.
After that it is anyones guess! He usually has another nap but no fixed time and then crashes out on the school run again around 3:15pm for around 45-60mins.
He sometimes has another nap but it's a bit hit and miss really.
The bit that really stresses me out is bedtime I guess. He is really tired and ready but will not stop sucking and then will not settle in cot until 10pm - regular as clockwork. I don't even bother putting him in his cot during thd day but I guess I should persevere really.
But the good news is last night (after an horrendous screaming fit) he went from 10:30pm to 7:15pm so I am a happy bunny today
We are all getting there

Well I've caught up ( and for some reason this has made me really proud!)

Tassis, hope your ds is better now.

Cruisemum, my hv told me to do a topup with formula in the evening to see how much she would take (so we could kind of work out how much she'd had) and we were shocked when she took 5oz. Basically, I was so exhaused by then that my milk was slow and after an hour of feeding she'd had next to nothing.

Mable, DD was on lactulose for 3 weeks due to constipation but is now on half a teaspoon of brown sugar in 4oz of water and it's just as good.

Munkibaby, when it comes to routine I just let both of mine find their own and they have done. I'm a wuss and can't cope with them crying so I was babyled.

Homemama, toddlers and new borns are such hard work, you have my sympathy. DS has started the whole attention seeking behaviour thing and it's just making me feel guilty as he's obviously not getting what he needs from me.

I decided to switch to formula feeding on friday morning as dd is refusing to gain weight and is now below the 2nd centile. Was going to do it gradually but once I'd made up my mind I decided to just go cold turkey. Cue very swollen sore boobs . However, she is like a different baby, playing on her gym for quite a while, watching baby einstein and settling herself to sleep. Feel guilty, as though she's been hungry for the last 8 weeks. We thought she'd got an umbilical hernia as she has a stump on the belly button but it turns out it's just because she has no body fat for it to go into
Also got diagnosed with PND and I'm back on the old Prozac, but at least now I may start to enjoy both of my children.
Keep looking after those lo's x

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
Calvemjoe: Elizabeth Marie, 18 September 7lb 10.5oz, now 8lbs 3oz

Marls - I know what you mean about DS waking as soon as he is put in cot. We are trying to wean Edward off his car seat but at the moment it is the only place he will sleep. I think we might try going cold turkey tomorrow. We've tried it before but he just cries and cries in his cot.
Last night he fed 11pm, 2:50am and 6:45am. He stirred at 5am and I thought I would have to feed but we just tucked his blanket around him and he fell asleep again - I was really pleased.

I had a good week at my parents and they really helped to look after Edward and entertain him during the day.

I'm going to post natal classes on tuesday. We got an invitation in the post from our health visitor, it is basically a reunion of our ante-natal class and will consist of 3 sessions on topics we choose but I think it will be topics like weaning and colic. It should be good - we have a really good team of HVs.

Myrtle - totally understand the aversion to cot thing! ds sleeps happily in his buggy during the day. I only recently discovered this after anguishing over different locations for the past 9 weeks). But at night it is a different story. Funny thing is that once he is asleep in his cot he will sleep there for anything between 7 - 9 hrs solid! Even if he wakes early in the morning he is happy to coo and gurgle for a good 15 mins so I don't understand his reluctance to go down there in the evening.! Very confusing!x

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 8oz
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
Calvemjoe: Elizabeth Marie, 18 September 7lb 10.5oz, now 8lbs 3oz

Hi all! ds all better now, thanks for asking. We've had a mad few days with visitors and stuff but all fun. We're really looking forward to our holiday - leaving for Ireland on Tuesday at about 6am. Tonnes to do before then! It'll be fun to have a first trip as a family of four.

I've reposted the names list above as I got Lucy's birth weight wrong

Lovely to read everyone's news. Hope you've all had a good weekend.

Have gone cold turkey with car seat tonight. DS usually goes to bed at 7pm and we've been trying to put him in his cot for the last hour. He is really sleepy but just wakes and cries as soon as his head touches the mattress. Have been going in to calm him down every 5 mins - seems to have stopped crying now but I don't know if he is just gathering strength for the next bout of crying. I spoke too soon, he has just started up again.

Calvemjoe - well done! It is an achievement after being away for a bit - I find a few days bad enough! I really hope the meds help you pick up a bit and really enjoy the next stage. I'm really pleased to hear that your LO's now putting weight on too - that must have been a worry. Don't feel bad about her not putting it on with you BF though, think of all the good antibodies and lovely feelings she will have got from being so close to mummy.

Cruisemum - your 'routine' is pretty similar to the one we have going here except for a few things. I never let the first nap go for more than 45 mins which has the effect of making the 'middle nap' (the one where you have time for 40 winks, lunch and a phone call!) longer - to about 1 and a half to two hours. Then in the afternoon if he has a cat nap I wake him after 30 mins. I realise this is probably slightly difficult if you're trying to fit in a school run but perhaps he's getting too much sleep in the later part of the day? Is there anyone who could pick DD up for you for a week while you put some time into keeping DS awake? Also could you express a few ounces in the morning when supply is good and give it as a top up at 7pm to try and prevent the 'nibbling'? - Just ideas - sorry if you've tried them!

Forgot to put in my post earlier - we've found two things that seem to improve DS's sleep, the new bottles so he's feeding properly and swaddling, which I thought he'd be too old for but it's really helped! Last night we did 7pm, 11pm, 3am and 7am - and it was the second night in a row like that - fingers crossed for tonight!

However - rather at DH - at the 3am he called out - 'which bottle is it?' - he'd accidentally given DS the leftovers of formula that had been sat there for 4 hours instead of the expressed milk I'd left out. grrr. cue phone call at ungodly hour to NHS direct to check we didn't need to take him to get his stomach pumped - the formula was definitely slightly off too. The Nurse on the phone basically told me to stop being a worrier and loads of people didn't even bother with the 'hour' rule or even sterilising! Still, I'd rather not have to be finding that out at 4am!

DH has promised foot rub before bed tonight so he'll be back in the good books later

Myrtle - cross posted with you - good luck tonight! If there are breaks in the crying don't worry too much - it's a good sign she's tired and will drop off. Could you try every 10 mins? 5 mins isn't very long to settle well and you might actually be prolonging it a bit - definitely have found with my two that 15 mins works quite well.

Evening ladies! ((and if there are ANY gents or fathers that post here, i apologise and good evening to you too.)) heheheh

Cruisemum - you asked about last night, my attempt to put fynn down at 8:30 instead of starting my normal routine at 10pmish. well, i have to admit that because i started at half 8, he was down and ready for me to leave the room at about 10pm. it takes me a couple hours on most nights to feed, calm, and settle before im convinced he's really asleep. So, you're not alone in that battle of the long settling times. I have to take a magazine with me just to peek at while passing the time the DS is feeding.

I think i kinda liked him being down a couple hours earlier than usual. it means that i might get a little time in with DH which we really need right now as we're in the "new parent/newborn" phase that feels like we're at each others throats all the time. know what i mean? like we are drifting apart. so, last night, monitors on full volume, we managed to get a long game of scrabble in ((he creamed me, points wise!)) and we even had time for an intimate moment. . but like clockwork, as soon as that started, ds starts crying and waking for a feed.

He was down, in total, for about 3-4 hours before waking, which was nice.

DS goes for his first jabs tomorrow, so fingers crossed that he'll pull an "all-nighter"!

CALVEMJOE- i totally agree with the routine thing. i, too, have decided to let him make the routine. babyleading is what seems to work for me. i know it will be different when we have a second child and when i get back to work.

;)

Hi Cruisemum! Our rough routine (based on babywhisper) is bath around 7 and into bed by 8 or 8.30. Has fed around 6.30 so gets a 'dreamfeed' any where between 10 or 11pm and hopefully goes down to sleep without waking or winding. Usually wakes between 2 and 3 for a feed and then again at 7ish. I'm a bit sneaky and may fool him it's still nightime by doing this feed and putting him back to bed - blackout curtains are a godsend here. I think I'm unusual in putting him in his own room since last weekend as he was getting so noisy and it's nice to have our bedroom back (DH grateful!)and he has much more room in his cotbed. Doesn't seem to mind where he sleeps actually DS that is not DP .

ALso thanks to MunkiBaby for the Oprah link - I recognise these sounds although the 'neh' one is often missed as he starts to shout instead.Also the i'm uncomfy and lower wind ones tend to arrive together!

Woodelf, we put DS in his own room on Saturday because he is such a noisy sleeper too. He is next door to us so we still hear his grunts but they are not so loud they keep us from sleep and we can of course still hear when he actually cries. Its lovely having our room back. DH had tidied it and changed the sheets on Sat and then come to collect me from my parents house where I had been staying all week with DS. When we got back, we found one of the cats had been shut in the bedroom by mistake and there was a pile of steaming poo and a pool of wee and an embarassed looking cat sitting on our lovely fresh bed!

Liquid, DS finally fell asleep in the cot last night after about an hour of crying on and off and us going in every 10 mins. It messed up feed times a bit so he woke more in the night but after every feed I put him back in the cot with no probs I hope it continues tonight although we're going out in car seat today so I hope that doesn't undo all last night's good work.

I hope everyone had good nights.

Morning everyone. Well hopefully we have turned a corner with dd. We've been leaving her to cry a bit longer as people suggested - 15 minutes max and least night she hardly cried at all and slept from about 8pm to 6am!!! I did hear her making a bit of noise but not crying at 4am but she went back to sleep just as i was about to warm up the bottle!! She's in her own room but dh still often sleeps in there as he gives her the night bottle or as it was today the early morning bottle. I let her sleep in as she doesn't sleep all that well in the day. She has a bottle at roughly 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 6pm sometimes a bit more to settle her in the evenings.
Fingers crossed this will continue!! She still naps on me or when we're out in the day. Don't feel up to getting her in the cot in the day just yet when the nights are so good! Ds didn't go in the cot in the day until he was much older

hello hello

just got back from first injections. i wasn't aware that he was going to get one in each leg! wasnt prepared to see that sad little face twice! awwwww! im thinkin im a bigger wimp than my 8 week old! ha!

i have the calpol ready incase this crankiness ends. but im going to try and hold off until bedtime before giving it to him. ((im hoping for a restful night))

he was crying so hard in his pram on the walk home from the gp's office, i had stopped at a park bench and gave him a cuddle in hopes to calm him...((he;s not really a fussy baby so i couldnt handle the crying.)) then it dawned on me, when i put him in his pram at the clinic, i mustve hurt his legs where the injections were by tucking the blankets in tight! awwww naughty mommy!

he's content now, having a feed and snuggled into his grobag...

how's everyone else?

Hi all,
Munkibaby I know how you feel took dd for her 8 wk immunisations today. She's a little miserable today normally she's constantly laughing and cooing so im giving her extra cuddles and doing my best to avoid holding her thighs while I carry her. Have asked dd to pick up some baby paracetomal incase it bothers her through the night.

ooops shouldve said dp to pick up paracetomal

Looks like last night might have been a one off!! Lots of crying this evening again. Think it must be overtiredness. Hope all the babies who had immunisations today are doing okay