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

Re the vote I have no idea what to even think at the minute. I work for a construction/hire company who's main head office is German. The company's main profit comes from UK contracts on which I work payroll and finance admin. Being 4 months into a 10 month maternity means I've got no idea how things have been going or will go over the coming months. I don't know if to start looking for work or just hope for the best and hope they'll still work in the UK because of the profits they make here.

Q we've been putting DS in the Moses basket, in the cot, for a couple of weeks now, for the first part of the night after he goes to bed at 7.30ish, then taking the Moses basket through to our room when we go to bed. Hopefully this has got him used to being in his room and his view of the ceiling etc will be the same! I wasn't planning on moving him for another week or two so was going to try naps in the cot like you, but we've had some really bad nights where he's been waking himself up constantly with hitting the sides of the basket so I just bit the bullet and decided to try it tonight. He settled almost straight away in the cot when I put him to bed but the real test will be what happens when he wakes up during the night!

Q That's where DH and I grew up, different towns and met at university in Victoria. Small world! We're also investigating the possibility of a few years in NZ before going back to Canada. I have some academic contacts there and it's always been a bit of a pie in the sky fantasy for both me and DH. Easier to do it when the kids are small!

T's keen on stuffing muslin cloths and her fists into her mouth and will raise her hands to hit the toys in her swing but not actually bet at them yet. Tomorrow will see another installment in the get-T-to-drink-from-a-bloody-bottle saga.

Oh how amazing mship I have a 'cousin' there. (Easier to say cousins as we have no idea how we are actully related) my grandpa was British, his brother met a Canadian girl in the war and stayed in Canada - so 'cousin' is the grandaughter of my grandpas brother haha. Originally van city but moved to Port Alberni a few years ago (when I went to stay) and now nanaimo. Beautiful part of the world and can't wait to take ds one day. Dp is it tonight so I've chilled in bed watching a movie with ds, who I now can't bear to disturb he looks so peaceful and tiny in the big bed.

Hmm up doing an unexpected night feed, a reaction to thursday's jabs, the heat or the dreaded 4 month sleep regression??

Whilst I was pregnant dh's firm offered him a 2'year position in Dubai, we considered it but decided it would be tough for me to be on my own with 2 kids and no support. Its still on the table if we want it and after the referendum dh has started to mention it again, I can't quite work out how serious he is!

Another one shocked at the referendum result here. I have no idea where all the leave voters are, I know of only one (DH's colleague who he had a go at ). I can get an Irish passport but I don't think my children can.

Off to another wedding today, DS2's 2nd of 3 this year. Went out last night and despite pumping before bed and 2 night feeds I still have ginormoboobs this morning. DS2 is a little overwhelmed. On the plus side since his tongue tie release he's become a much more efficient feeder and also sometimes gives me a 4-5 hour stretch at night.

I can't remember who had the stranger-scone kindness. People can be SO nice! The staff in sainsburys packed my shopping for me this week while I sat and fed a screaming DS.

Q thanks for the wine

We all had a much better day yesterday thankfully. Strange night though, E woke at 1.45 for a feed which she hasn't done in weeks. I was wondering if it was the start of sleep regression as well MrsE. Hope it isn't!

Me hope the first night in the cot went smoothly. We are trying to keep E in the basket for a while longer. We are having a loft extension this summer to create much needed space and in hoping she won't need the cot until that is finished and I have room to put it. We managed to keep ds in his basket until 6 months but he wasn't a big or wriggly baby. She isn't big but she does wriggle.

About the toy grabbing it sound as if E is similar then. Some of my books implied it should have started by now and I can't remember with ds. She does love a muslin cloth to chew too and will briefly hold very light toys. She's 15 weeks now, time is flying!

Hi to the new posters forgot to say that I think in my EU shell shock. Sorry to all of you with uncertain futures after yesterday. It's a worrying time

purple , MrsE , another one with an unexpected night feed last night, 2.30 where she has been going to 5.30 -6.30. Shock at the referendum I guess . DH voted leave, I didn't so we have been having some animated discussions..

E, at 13 weeks has been grabbing and mouthing toys for a few weeks, particularly a rabbit with crinkly ears we wedge in the side of the basket. It is a bit hit and miss with the activity mat though, some days she will grab at toys and look at herself in the mirror and others just lie there, hitting them occasionally with a flailing arm.

Collecting cot bed from my mum at the weekend, part of me would prefer a simple cot as it is huge but mum needs the space and it is daft to buy something when we have it on offer. Really love the current ease of leaning into the moses basket to pop in a dummy and get an extra hour or so of sleep. But E is very wriggly and growing fast so will need to be out of the basket soon.

DS won't go to sleep for the night until 10pm, for a couple of weeks he'd been sleeping 10-6 but the last few nights he's been up again. Last night he woke at 2, 3, 5 and 7 :| I'm also hoping this isn't the start of sleep regression... he's only 15 weeks on Monday!

Does anyone else struggle to get them down for naps? DS fights it so so much, but I know he needs it because he gets really upset when he's tired.

FS I find naps are much easier if I get the first one right. C loves her sleep so even after sleeping from about 8.30pm till about 6.30-7ish she is often back asleep by 9am for at least a couple of hours sometimes the whole morning. When we have groups in the mornings her afternoon/evening naps are a bit hit and miss.

fs naps are a nightmare here too, managed to catch them all right yesterday though and he was down with 10 mins. Usually rocked In his bouncer with some white noise - naps only last 30 mins too.
2 wake ups for us last night - has been going 9-4 but last night didn't sleep until 10, woke at half 2, half 5 and then 7. Don't want to accept it as regression and blaming the heat instead

Sleep has also gotten worse in this house (again) - DD2 went down at 7 last night and woke up at half 10, 1 and 3. She had been going 7-2 and then sleeping till 5/6 but the new normal seems to be an extra wake anywhere between 10 and 12. Naps are still ok - she will go down quite happily in the morning and lunchtime but afternoon nap is always hit and miss. Ive actually found that if I put her down an hour after she wakes she will quite happily pop off to sleep in her cot without any help from me. But by half 3/4 she really struggles to go down for her last nap. I've just just spent 45 mins walking round with her in the sling and she's only just gone to sleep!

We also moved her into her big cot a couple of weeks ago and she sleeps better in it that in the bednest and our room is large enough that it still fits in it. I've been lazy and just lifted her out of the cot into the bed to feed her in bed but she's getting so heavy now it's hurting my back and it's time to accept I'm going to have to actually get out of bed to lift her out of the cot. Boo!

Yes to the nap fighting!! It used to take DD a 30 second rock and couple of sucks on her dummy and she was asleep. For the last week it's taken 10-15 mins of shushing, swaddling, rocking and sometimes suckling!! I put it down to the 12 week wonder week leap she's been in but I think it's maybe because they are learning and developing so much right now that it's much more exciting to be awake! If we don't get that first morning nap down she's a nightmare all day

We talked about sleep in my Beyond Newborns class this week and the teacher said that 30 min naps are fine because that's a complete sleep cycle, just annoying that it's not much time to get anything done! Less than that though and you will probably have an over tired baby at the end of the day

She said that the 4 month sleep regression occurs when their sleep cycles change to 60 mins and they can't handle the change at first, so may start waking every hour through the night She said try not to feed them but soothe then first, only use feeding as a last resort (unless it's a time you would normally feed)

Now DD is out of her leap we've had a lovely couple of days where she's started properly laughing when 'riding a horse on my knee, it's so wonderful! Pay back for all the tough times

Not just me then! DS will usually nap for 45 minutes once I finally get him down, and 3 hours in the afternoon. This involves lots of rocking, shushing, patting etc. There's no way he could get to sleep himself if I just put him down i feel like I spend half the day trying to get him to sleep.

Yep naps pretty hit and miss here too. He can sometimes go 2 hours awake now but usually it's 1.5 hours max and then grumpy for sleep.

I do put him down for naps but with a lot of sleep aids - white noise, dummy, swaddled, dark room. Often have to sit there and stroke his nose to help him along and he does often protest but usually is out in under 15 mins - if I time it just right he's out in seconds. If out I put snooze shade over buggy as he will not nap if it's light.

He's suddenly decided the past few nights to be wide awake chatting after his 2am feed after previously going straight back to sleep

Still up every 3 hours here - possibly with a 4 hour initial stretch. He goes down at 7 though so it's quite nice to have the evening with DP.

Naps hit and miss here too. E settles herself quite well in the day. Past 5pm no chance, it's rocking etc to get her off. She has about three naps a day but the length is really hit and miss. She sleeps much better when we are out and about which is fine with me most days because I don't want to be stuck at home with a cot nap but others I do just want to be in and she won't sleep as well without that walk!

Going to bed hoping she goes back to her sleeping til 4/5am.

Naps here are ok if we are at home, but as we are often out and about with DS1, J gets woken up as he is in and out of the car. Then he gets really worked up by the evening, so we use our 'magic cloth'. Just run a soft cloth down over their head and face slowly a few times. It really calms him down and helps to close his eyes.

Nighttime sleep still going well. We try to do a late feed 8-9ish then he is down until 4-6am. Sometimes we get away with just putting a dummy in and he'll sleep till past 7. No regression here as yet but he's 16 weeks so still time. And he's just starting to grab, rather than swat, at toys.

Welcome newbies to the thread!

Oh and it turns out all the leave voters were my family! (I was a remain and they are most disgusted at me!)

Yep, naps totally hit and miss here too. Like everyone else 3 a day (morning, after lunch, late afternoon) but not really any pattern to length. If we're home and he's in the cot I can get 90 minutes out of him, but sometimes it's as short as 20 or 30 minutes.

Night time sleep ... we moved him to his cot in his own room 2 nights ago. The first night I was up twice to settle him. Last night ... he slept 7.30pm until 6am with not a peep out of him I am such a proud mum! I woke up several times and couldn't believe it and kept turning up the volume on the monitor so I could hear him breathing! When I had him next to me it was 2-3 times a night he'd need settling with his dummy or patting, we were obviously disturbing each other.

He is definitely loving his new found space in the cot - he sleeps like a starfish (as much as he can in a grobag) and has over the course of both nights turned himself round 180 degrees so he wakes up facing the opposite way to how he was when I put him down

Sleep seems to be getting worse here too, F was only waking once or twice for a feed but the past 2 nights he's been up almost hourly, really hope it's not the start of the 4 month sleep regression.
On the plus side he did settle himself for a nap yesterday which he hasn't done before.

Awful night here. 3.5 hours to start, then 2 hours and awake for ages again at 2am, then up roughly every 1.5 hours. Eugh.

DS is only 14.5 weeks but I think we may be in sleep regression territory.

We're still ok with nights but daytime naps has become a nightmare! I can spend more time settling and trying to get her to sleep than she'll actually sleep for, I think she managed about two short cat naps yesterday and was beside herself by 4pm.. Not sure what to do to help it though some days it's better when we're out and some when we are in so just go with it I guess.

Picked up a jumperoo on eBay yesterday and now looking for a bigger house and despite it being a little bit big, tip toes just touching floor she liked the test run so hopefully another growth spurt and she can play in that.

I'm with you maybe I have no idea how many times ds woken last night but between 8 and 2 it was 3 times, by 2 I just lifted him into bed with us, slept with no top on so he could latch on when he wanted - I needed the sleep. Know there were a few wake ups after though too.
We are going to try him in the big cot tonight, it won't fit in our room as it's a huge cot bed but he also seems to starfish me so hoping it will help. I'm probably not going to sleep though and instead spend the night watching the monitor.

Sympathies Q!

I've tried a few times to co sleep with DS but he doesn't like it, just makes him wake up more :(

He's in his sleepyhead in the cot, maybe I'll try taking him out of it and see if that helps. We also swaddle him still so may see if he fares better without it.

Those of you bfeeding, how often are you little ones feeding? HV said he should only be feeding every four hours now but I'm feeding him roughly every 2-3 hours in the day. Sometimes less, sometimes more.

Sympathies for the sleep woes. DS2 finally did a long stretch the other night and is back to his 12/3/5ish routine.

Re BFing. Yep, mine will only go 2 hours (and not a moment longer) during the day. (DS1 was the same, I can't remember when it changed. Though he still eats every 2 hours now at 5 years old!)

He also only naps in the carrier whether we're in or out!

4 hourly? Wow that seems forever away, we are 2-3 hours max. Had a few 6/7 hour gaps at night so don't really mind the regular daytime feeds.
Ds isn't swaddled, this week he's had a short sleeves vest and a 1.5 tog sleeping bag, when it's cooler hes usually in the bag with a long sleeved vest. He hated swaddling from birth.
Hadn't tried the Co sleeping before but I was so tired and he seemed to sleep better but I really don't want it to become habit because I know i didn't sleep properly with him in the bed.

Hope you have a better night tonight maybe