March 2016 Babies Thread #11 - We've got smiley babies, screaming babies and farty babies!

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This time last year....my nephew was days away from being born, I was planning a wedding and looking forward to that holiday.....little did I know that I would fly home with a little souvenir

We've managed to pack everything in 2 carry on cases and a rucksack (ds gets a hand luggage allowance) with the help of some travel vacuum bags that you roll the air out of. Some things have had to be sacrificed including my breast pump and bottles so C had better feed nicely!

We could have paid extra but dh is keen not to waste time at the airport as we are only there for a short time. The plan is I will push ds in the buggy and carry dd in the connecta while dh wears the rucksack and pulls both cases, we are driving to Gatwick and hiring a car from Montpellier airport so hopefully the times where we have everything will be short!

Hope beaut and time are doing ok.

Wahoo We have sunshine!!

M has had a sleep so I managed to do a bit of cleaning only to come back into the lounge to a massive poonami. I've binned her vest and baby grow...that's how bad it was.

One bath later I've got a sweet smelling baby again.

Mrs Ells I am in awe of your skills.

DH is working till 9 - is it unreasonable to have a barbecue all by myself?

Wow MrsE I can't imagine going away with hand luggage only! I told dh we weren't going abroad this year as I couldn't possibly take a small baby and all the stuff it needs on a plane! I've always travelled light before but not anymore.

Gorgeous weather here, lovely day in the garden at DH's parents.

Apologies for the tmi but I thought I'd share with you all the wonderful news that my piles, which have been with me since around week 27/28 of pregnancy, which after birth were the size of walnuts, and which the midwife said were some of the worst she'd ever seen, have finally gone! I think they've been gone for a few weeks but I wasn't brave enough to look until today. All is looking much more normal at the front end now too - my episiotomy scar is fading and not nearly so raised as it once was. So glad I am not ruined forever downstairs!

I'm very jealous me, mine are still going strong, even after some prescription-strength stuff from the doctor!

Cassidy is not as impressed with her new sun bonnet as I am... not quite ready for the Great British Sewing Bee just yet though!

I'm sure we will have forgotten loads of things but I figure we can buy whatever we need, France is pretty civilised after all!

Me I love that that is the type of thing that gets shared on here!

MrsE love the sun bonnet and I spent the entire of our walk today putting R sun hat back on so good idea! Just laughed at my auto correct - rocking = packing but sounds like you're sorted I'm not sure I could manage with hand luggage.. I was always one of these people that wondered why people with babies had so much stuff until I now try and leave the house...

paper did you bbq in end?

Me

Meant to ask those of you with an older DC I'm going to look at some nurseries this week - what should I be asking? They all have fairly comprehensive websites which answer most of my questions (and as a result is why I'm going to see those few..) but Im sure there are things I should be asking I haven't thought of..

Vroc with us it was just the feeling we got when visiting. How happy the children were, how they interacted with the adults, what outside space was like, can you see any crying children not being comforted, etc. Some of the places we visited the staff looked so bored and that was a definite no for us. We also preferred a nursery that had a mixture of older and younger staff.

Actually staff turnover is a good question and qualifications of staff in each room. I would also check out their payment policy for when you get free hours as some make you pay for more wrap around care than others.

Vroc I had poached eggs on toast which I had to wolf down as M was having a paddy...I mean how DARE I eat when she's asleep, woken up and decided SHE wants her tea.

Hello all, lovely family weekend here with lots of outings so I'm having a lazy day today.

I've just mastered the new skill of eating a rivita in silence. E refused to nap for more than 20mins this morning so I finally go her off after a 12pm feed on the sofa. She was like this yesterday so I think her sleep pattern is changing. She has also slept since 7pm for the last two nights waking at 11 for a feed and then again at 5. I don't know that I'm quite ready to move to the two main naps a day stage. Not that I have a choice!

Is anyone's baby rolling? E has no interest still and doesn't like tummy time but I noticed on the wonder weeks app it's a skill for this leap.

MrsE I love the hat. Hope you have a lovely holiday.

Dom well done on the big drive too! Are you back home now?
*
Vroc* I agree with all Rhu said about nurseries. I'm an early years teacher and really think it's the feel you get in a setting rather than their accolades. The adult child interaction is important and also like Rhu said the staff turnover. They should also have access to be outside area and ideally it should be free flow inside and out. Word of mouth too is helpful, do you know anyone with dc at any of the nurseries already?

Me a toast goodbye to the piles. Mine come and go and have since ds was born. They are hideous aren't they! Swear have a in commiseration for your lingering ones.

Feels strange not having ds about this week already, although I'm enjoying not rushing about and having control of the tv for a while

Sorry Vroc bold fail there. I'm not bossily shouting at you honest!

Hey all been lurking past few days and finally had a chance to post.

purple it's funny literally ten mins ago I thought to myself i think DD2 is moving to two solid naps and I'm not ready for it, then came on here and saw you'd said the same! DD2 isn't rolling yet but this morning I noticed she can get onto her side and back. I have been making more of an effort to do tummy time and today noticed she can suddenly lift her head up a lot higher and part of her shoulders too.

DD2 has terrible cold and sleep was awful last night, several wakes and feeds would not settle her back down. Am now knackered. DD1 was up at 5 but thankfully DH back from stag do so he got up with her.

Oh and we survived the weekend with just the three of us! Just about!

Hope time and beaut are doing ok, been a while since we've heard from them.

A quiet ryvita it's is quite a skill Purple!

We don't have any set nap times here yet but he does generally go down longer after lunch. J is wanting more after each feed now so think we are going to have to go up to 7 ounces a month early or switch to hungry milk.

J has his BCG jab tomorrow which I am not looking forward to at all. DS1's took ages to heal.

Marmite well done for surviving the weekend! Have a well deserved .

Hello ladies. I'm typing this in the hairdressers chair while waiting for my colour to develop having left O with his dad for the first time (he's 11 weeks). I know I should be enjoying the peace and quiet but cannot seem to relax. Have texted DH and know that they're fine, but it feels so weird to be without him isn't if funny how quickly they take over your world. Miss this little bundle...

doc I felt exactly the same when I left DS with my DM so I could get my hair done!

We don't have much in the way of set nap times here either. I try to get DS to have a short morning nap (30-45 mins), a longer one after lunch (1-1.5 hrs) and a short late afternoon one (30 mins around 4.30/5pm) but that's the ideal and it very rarely happens! Today he had 45 minutes from about 10.45-11.30, about 30 minutes from 2.30-3, and he's about 30 minutes into his late afternoon one now. Not enough at all but some days it just doesn't work out!

Rhu DS has been on 7oz for over a week now at 13 weeks. I don't worry much about the guidelines on how much he should have, his weight is fine and he was draining his 6oz bottles every time so I increased if.

Me I guess I'm cautious as with DS1 the HV was convinced I was over feeding him and i had to take him for weekly weigh ins. J is pretty chubby and we've had quite a few comments about him being a 'big' baby so I'm almost scared to up his milk intake. I haven't taken him to be weighed since the 8 week check for fear they will react the same again. He currently has 5 6oz bottles which he drains every time too. Sometimes he might wake twice in a night and then he has another bottle.

I think I'll up to 7 and see how he goes. DS1 is tall and skinny now at 4, so I'm sure J will be the same.

Checking in again after a bit of time lurking.

Wow to all those with discernible nap patterns, nothing like that here!

Struggled to keep DS2 cool today, it's was sooo hit here. Shouldn't complain but we were out and about all day and I felt like a shade-chaser.

I had his tongue tie snipped tonight. It was a very traumatic few minutes but thankfully only lasted a short time. He's been grumpy and feeding lots since and I'm convinced he's looking at me with the evil eye just hoping it makes a difference and he can go longer than 2-3 hours some time soon...

glad you managed to get it done magpie and fingers crossed it makes a difference to feed intervals. Having said that DD2 definitely does not have tongue tie and at almost 12 weeks old still feeds pretty much every 2-3 hours. The only exception is a 4 hour (rarely 5 hour) stint at the beginning of the night i.e. she sleeps 7-11, then is up every 2-3 hours for feeding after that . I think some babies are just wired that way! but hopefully it will stop any other problems you have with feeding (am I right in thinking you still had some pain/discomfort?).

DH had to go back to work this evening to sort some things out for an 11 day work trip he's got coming up in July (I am bricking it on how I will cope).. and I'm sat doing work on my laptop when I should be in bed or doing something relaxing. Why am I even doing work when I'm on mat leave?! ugh but unfortunately as an academic I have research commitments I couldn't just jack in for 9 months (and which nobody but I can do) and things have popped up I need to do, sooner than I was expecting have been putting it off for a couple of weeks and now actually really need to do it, but have come to the unfortunate realisation this evening that my brain doesn't work so well anymore

Sorry to hear about baby brain marmite. I bet you'll soon get back into the swing of things. Shame you have to though!
Thanks, yes, the 2-3 hourly feeds don't bother me much and my first two were frequent feeders too, but at night it's more like 1-2 and we NEVER get a >3 hour stretch. And yes, nipple pain still feels like the early days. Also, his weight was dropping off the centile he had been following. Hoping all that improves now.

Ah Rhu I get why you're sensitive about it then. It's weird, a friend from my NCT group has a big baby and has the HV on her back too, her DS is on the 90th percentile compared to my DS on the 25th but their overall daily milk intake is about the same. If your older DS was the same but is now skinny then I'd try not to worry too much about it.

marmite boo to doing work on mat leave! I'm genuinely concerned that my brain will be completely fried by the time I go back to work ...

magpie I hope sorting the tongue tie helps your DS.

Rhu I've heard about being told off for allegedly over feeding on formula, but I do wonder about big breast fed babies. My friend's son is ebf and at 6months and is as big if not bigger as ds was at 1yr. I just think that some babies are bigger than others and as your older ds proves it doesn't mean they will always be bigger.

E still has 5oz a time, she does drink it all sometimes but when I try 6oz she normally only takes 4 . I'm not worried though as she was a small baby and she is gaining so I'm just going with her.

Marmite urgh to work. I'm going in next week for a planning day and will need to find my brain for that. Part of me feels a bit excited to be me and not mum but the other part is worried I'll just say daft things because I'm over tired.

Did anyone see the thread about the little boy with leukaemia? Well I posted a few times, felt very sad about it all and it turns out it was a troll! I'm sticking to the safety of our group now.

Hi all,

I've been meaning to post for ages but keep getting distracted and then the conversation moves on!

With regards to feeding, I was told 2.5oz per pound that the baby weighs (so a 10b baby would need 25oz per day). There's also this guide which I think is taken from the Baby Whisperer. So Rhu I don't think you have anything to worry about

Do you remember I linked to a sleep guide a few weeks back? Well that was for 0-3 months and now my class has given me a 3-6 month guide. It might be worth a read if you're interested in that kind of thing. It covers things like helping baby transition away from unsustainable sleep associations (such as rocking to sleep) and creating routines, without having to do cry it out. I'll link to a few other materials which seem quite interesting too:

3-6 Months Sleep Factsheet

Infant Temperament

How Temperament Affects Sleep

Infant Development

Dial it Down

Oh and here's my little peanut at 12 weeks :) doc I left her for the first time for 2 hours the other day for a zumba class, just with DH but I still checked my phone every 5 minutes! Need to get over the fear!

Thanks everyone. We've upped to 7 for last 2 bottles and he's demolished those too . I think if I get him weighed with HV, will just have to take DS1's red book with me and show he was the same. I'm going to try to self weigh tomorrow first though (weighing me, then standing on the scales with J), just so I can see if he is still on his curve.

Purple I posted on that thread too. Am totally shocked and sickened that it was a troll.

Marmite I don't think I could engage my brain enough to work. Really feel for you.

Ffaux what a little beauty. Thanks for the fact sheets. Going to give them a read now.

Rhu I'd suggest doing the self-weigh with both yourself and your partner, then average the results. We found about a 8oz difference between the two of us trying it but the average was only 2oz off what T actually weighed on the official scales at the baby clinic the next day.

T's dropped to 75th from 91st in weight, but I think that's just her settling in - she's 75th for length. DS did the same thing (just under 91st at birth) and eventually drifted down to just over the 50th, where he's been for both height and weight since he was about 2.

Gorgeous babies all, and it sounds like everyone had a good weekend. I love seeing all the photos. T is 3 months today and DS is 4 years tomorrow. I cannot believe how the time is flying. T's next jabs are tomorrow already!

DH is out tonight to see a long-awaited gig, so is staying in town after work. Luckily the lovely PILs are taking DS for the afternoon and will bring him home after his tea, so I'll take it easy and only have to do about an hour's mad juggle of screaming baby and tired preschooler at bedtime.