November 2014: The one that needs baby-proofing!

[ladydolly]

And maybe ends with 1st birthdays!!

I start back at work on Tuesday. That's only the day after tomorrow but I am in complete denial. Long days exhausted me before but now I will be doing them after about 5hrs broken sleep

Don't worry too much, you'll go on autopilot when you get in there. ((((Hugs))))

east well done to your DS. I think sometimes becoming an older sibling makes a big difference. Out friends 4 year old used to be super shy but as soon as her baby sister came along she started coming out of her shell.

anna My DP is very similar when he thinks he has done something wrong. I then proceed to tell him all the mistakes I made that week and it does seem to help. I think they think we all know what we're doing!

Me and DP went to a wedding on Saturday and inlaws looked after DS. Ceremony 3-4.30, went home to breastfeed DS and then reception 6-gone midnight. They did brilliantly. He had a later nap so didn't go to sleep until about 9 but then only woke up once at 3. When he woke in the morning they got up with him too. Amazing! BUT I am never drinking that much again when I have DS. Feeling rough but then having to feed and play and get him to nap. God awful with a hangover!

Hi all. Can I join the zombie club please. DS has been waking a LOT at night for the last two weeks. Last night he woke at 3.45 and then didn't go back to sleep and every time I got back in to bed thinking I'd settled him, left it two minutes and then started crying again. I am on my last legs this morning and was going to nap when he went down, only to get work arrive in my inbox which had to be turned round asap...so here I am, work completed and waiting for him to wake up and feeling like sh*te.

No words here either. Or waving, clapping etc. Just crawling and cruising for England. Baby gates went up last week and life's been a little easier since then.

anna I take my hat off to you ttc! We have decided that one little bundle of joy is enough for us. We are firmly agreed that neither of us has the energy for another one. DP is 'going to the vet' as he puts it.

Thisis we said the same after ds1 and he was a v easy baby and toddler and a delightful now 5yr old but once he turned 3 we started considering another and then agreed if I was pregnant before he turned 4 in the Aug and started school then so be it and if not we would stick with the one and hey presto ds2 is here :)

Poor ds2 is suffering with constipation always been an issue since started weaning but managed with lots apricots etc but have resorted to a Ella prunes pouch it worked before and some good old tummy massage.

I def wouldn't be TTC if I wasn't as old as dirt, lol. If I were younger I'd wait until he went to school.

I am definately dreading having 2 under 2. UGH! But i see it as short term pain for long term gain. I love the thought of him having a co-conspirator to bitch about us to.

Aw Anna best if kick with ttc I had myself so convinced I only wanted one baby I sold all dds baby stuff, no Moses basket bouncer swing etc all gone! Now I'm wavering on the if it happens it happens fence!
Although catch me after a bad nights sleep and it's definitely just the one for me!

Have any of you started baby on cows milk at all even introducing it in food? Our HV is very against any drop of it before 1year but 3 of the babies born in around DD have already been taken of formula and onto bottles of cows milk and another baby 3 weeks younger is having cereal etc mixed with it but still taking formula in bottles. Just wondering what everyone was doing as dd is still only drinking formula and getting porridge etc mixed with formula also

Still just boob and formula here though I gave dd1 cow's milk in cereal from about 7months. Dd2 has gotten a brief mild rash once or twice from cow's milk so it may not agree with her just yet.
I spend a fortune on those premixed formula bottles as a result!

And yes Anna best of luck - exciting!
Keep us posted every detail

Best of luck rather! One handed typing!!

Excited we are dairy free but you can use cow's milk and milk alternatives like oat milk in food from 6mths just not as a main drink until a year.

We too sold/got rid of everything from ds 1 but mostly second hand anyway and sold for similar amounts and for ds2 again alot second hand although clothes we tend to buy new but in sales with few second hand bits.

Anna lots people I know have 2 under 2 or 3 under 3 or even 3 under 2 (twins in second pregnancy) and manage fine.

My sister had baby 1, 19mths later baby 2, 2.5yrs later baby 3 and 11mths (yes less than a yr) baby 4. They are 9,7,5,4 now

DS has formula if it is big amounts like poridge (sp?) But cows milk for little bits like thinning pasta sauce. I tried expressing about 3 months ago and got 10 mls from 45 mins of pumping! Screw that.

Had a chat with HV today about dropping the 2 breastfeeds DS has in the day for when he goes to nursery in November. He has never taken a bottle (tried every option and combination) and hasn't got the hang of a beaker yet. She managed to make me feel like I was desperate to give up breastfeeding (exact opposite, I love it and know I will miss it) and all the guilt. I got better help and advice from a woman in the queue at the surestart centre!

Cat my baby doesn't drink milk from anything other than boob at 8mths I cut him down to 3 feeds 7,5,6.45 plus he feeds twice overnight did same with ds1 although he didn't feed overnight. Baby started nursery last week and we get home at 5.30 on 2 days and he manages from 7 til then fine with food in between he has milk in food and a custard made with ebm mid afternoon.

I might try slowly Introducing it to see how she takes it just warmed in her breakfast maybe.

I always felt so nervous implementing change when she was sleeping through incase it upset that...now I'm all for trying anything once just incase we hit a jackpot and she sleeps all night in her cot!

Yesterday was DD full day without me, had to go away sort some paperwork and as there was 3hrs commute each way involved, she was with my parents for 12 hours. Left 6.30am when she was still asleep and back for 7pm for bed time. She's been brilliant and when I got back didnt make a big thing either, gave me a smile and long kiss when I picked her up, night has been with only one waking as well. So Friday I am off again, but this time to have some me time - bit of culture and shopping. Mum was even happy for me to stay over night in the hotel and come back next day, but I'd rather come back for bed time again, so that DD is assumed that mum always comes back by end of the day. Makes me feel quite hopeful about going to nursery for extended days from December.

We have started to give her a bit of cows milk this week for drink during the day. My parents are buying full fat milk directly from ecofarm in a very rural area, so thought its the best milk I can possibly get hold of and she is 2,5 months away from first birthday. She still has about 700ml of formula beside this, so plenty of required nutrients. Idea is by december have her drinking milk during the day and formula for night time. DD spits out cows milk from the cup, but drinks ok from the bottle. Yup, babies are weird!

Do you get bitten by your babies?
DD gives me sloppy kisses which often culminate in biting me. When I shout "auch!" She gives a big smile and stops as if for her its a sign that her big emotion has been received. I have a number of bite bruises and my arms, but so far have been lucky to escape having them on face.

excited yes we've been on full fat cows milk in meals since 6 months - used it in cheese sauce, porridge, custard and she's been fine with it. Apart from that it's been breast milk all the way. Am planning on introducing it as a drink when she starts full days at nursery (half way through Nov so 2 weeks shy of her 1st birthday).

strawberry, no biting here but quite a bit of scratching and pinching when I'm bf....

Strawberry I get bit! Dd comes at Me for a kiss mouth wide open & 9 times out of 10 I get a lovely kiss other times I get the teeth usually on the end of my nose which definately makes my eyes water, she's bit my cheek & my lips before. Ouch gets a big smile & the giggles from her

Going to try cow's milk today in her cereal as she doesnt usually take much milk in it...like me hates soggy breakfast cereal!

Last night she slept in her cot from 7.30 to 1.30 then into bed and sound to around 5am which was good going. Then she whinged round the bed undecided if she was getting up or getting cosy for more sleep! This lasted an hour before she woke for bottle. She drank herself to sleep, sat up, buried & is now asleep upside down in our bed snuggled up to my leg!

Buried = burped! I have no excuse for typos this morning Iv had a decent sleep & am typing with both hands available for a change

strawberry DS bites too. Mostly I think he's just checking things out with his mouth. He starts nursery for two half days a week next week so I can get some work done. I am excited for him. It looks much more fun than home, and he loves having other little people to play with.

Having decided to only have the one, I have to live with the guilt of making him an only child and I'm desperate for him to be able to socialise. Mixed feelings really. I feel like we're copping out a bit, and I really hope that we're making the right decision. Like you anna we would need to get cracking as waiting for DS to be school age would not be an option.

DH is around a lot, which factors into our decision. He works from home a lot and can make his own schedule, so he does 50% of the parenting, honestly. He has no hobbies really other than going to the odd football match, and doesn't go to the pub after, so is around all weekend too. I always feel like he's available to take over.

I mean realistically thats a big part of what enables me to think about a 2nd one. No point imagining otherwise. All my friends who are left at home the whole day are not so keen. My best friend is 40 too and has resolutely decided one is enough though her DH is keen for a 2nd & she does worry about the only child thing. But she's effectively a single mother Mon-Fri. I don't blame her, tbh.

Oh and good luck on your first day back happy!

Hope you??re getting on ok happy!! I found the first few days back tough but we??re in a routine now and babydolly seems happy enough at cm.

Sunday night I didn??t get a full hour??s sleep all night, possibly the worst night since newborn days. Last night she did about every 2 hours which felt heavenly compared to Sunday! We move house on Thursday, currently living in half filled box chaos, dp is spending every evening carrying them down 2 flights of stairs and driving them over to the new pad. Wondering how that will affect dd??s sleep too??

We were planning to start ttc2 around dd??s birthday but I think I might wait a little longer, maybe next spring, just to get through some stuff at work and make my job a bit more secure. Likewise if dp didn??t massively pitch in I would think twice, I am already terrified about how I??d fit in the care of 2 tiny humans but my parents are both retiring next year so I??d have them to fall back on which I don??t have now. In fact the maths is that if I conceived in the spring then by the time I go back to work dd would be getting at least some free childcare hours. This all assumes it??s as easy to get knocked up as it was 1st time around, I??m also no spring chicken.

That makes me feel a bit better Anna and Ladydolly. I am on my own every day from 8.30-7pm (by which time DS has gone to bed) Monday to Friday and DP spends all his spare time at the moment, so a good chunk of each weekend, renovating the house we are going to move into. We won't have completed that for at least another year and there are times when I really struggle with just DS. It does feel like single parenting sometimes.

My parents are also 2 hours away and whilst PILs are close I don't fully trust MIL with DS for a long list of reasons, far too long to go into now. She's just not careful enough with him. And I don't think I'm being a precious mother/PFB nut. We are quite relaxed about a lot of things; I don't mind a bit of dirt/dog/horse hair etc and I know he needs to find his own boundaries with physical things, but there is a limit to what I'm happy with him putting in his mouth/swinging around his head and we don't agree on what's acceptable, and she ignores my requests. So very little external support which is a major factor in our decision making.

Well a second week of work found yesterday such a long day think was due to shit traffic as well made it feel worse was out the house from 7.30-5.30 I collect from childcare husband does drop off so on a normal day I will be out from 7.25 til 5.15/5.30 just got to get used to it but it felt like hello children bye bye bedtime children, I couldn't do it 5 days a week that's for sure.

Poor baby was quite unsettled at nursery got better as day went on but was crap eating for them as well which means he def was not impressed.

Ds1 however has been a star and been amazing at going to childminder she said he is a pleasure to have.