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

C is 14 weeks on Monday and is about to go up to 6-9 month babygros! He's very long though.

Formula wise... on the rare occasions he's gotten a bottle of it, Hipp Organic seems to go down easiest and he really hates SMA.

mship you're right, no one has a clue how big they should be haha! People don't know what to say but want to say something. It's like "is he good?" My Dd (3) says to them "he's a baby so he doesn't know about good and naughty yet" which I'm very proud of and may have trained her intensely

I've left all 3 DCs for 8 hours for the first time today to come on a hen do. Just sat pumping in a park&ride car park waiting to meet the girls, glamorous! Can't wait to see how DH gets on. He asked me what to do if he uses up all 8 feeds I've left . It's only 8 hours, things are going bad if you use up 8 huge feeds!! We'll see...

We have a 3 day weekend here and after many tears the last few days and constant nap-refusals, DH, who normally works a lot on weekends, has agreed to take baby for the whole day today so I can do some exercise and catch up with the hundred things on my to-do list (which tbf are actually mainly baby related such as write thank you cards, sterilise bottles, sort out her drawers and clothes etc) Anyway we agreed all I would be responsible for is the BFs and that's it.

However it's 6.30am and I have been up with her since 5 (as well as a couple of night wakings )!while he's fast asleep. Already dealt with sick up all over sofa and a poonami all over me. She's now sleeping on me so I can't go to toilet or have breakfast, or even get a cup of tea. Which is all fine but I just know he's not going to get up until 8, refuse to take her until he's showered and eaten and surfed on the Internet, then she'll be an angel all day and he'll declare how easy it is!!

Regarding formula I use a US brand, but did a lot of research and HIPP always comes up as a good one in the UK with good reviews. Our pediatrician did tell us though that all the ingredients are basically identical between the brands.

Really interesting hearing all the different bedtimes and wake up times, as you say babies are all going to be different so I'm going to try and stop feeling the pressure to get her to conform to some kind of ideal. She will do what she does!

magpie at the 8 feeds!!

ffaux I read somewhere that a lot of babies don't develop a routine until they're down to a consistent 3 or even 2 naps a day, which feels like it's ages away. T's settling into a 7:30 pm to 6:30 am night with 2 or 3 feeds, but her naps are still pretty variable. I'm so looking forward to having my evenings back, even just an hour to dash to the pool on my own for a few hundred metres.

Last weekend I took DS to the pool for the first time since he was a baby. He hated it then so we stopped. It took a lot of convincing, he's a very timid kid, but once in he just loved it. I was so focused on him that I didn't pay any attention to how I felt in my post baby body in a swimsuit. It was great. We're going to go every week now so I can teach him to swim (I was a swimming instructor as my summer job in high school). Every kid should have basic water safety skills and I'm feeling a little guilty it's taken me so long.

DS is a bit under the weather I think. He's been grumpy today and has slept for 2.5 hours this afternoon! He woke up after 1hr20 so I got him out of his cot and brought him downstairs where he promptly fell back asleep on me and has been asleep for another hour. DH has a cold and DS did sound snotty this morning so maybe that's it.

Dom as to formula DS has Aptamil for no other reason really than it was the one I'd heard of best! He's happy enough on it but I know friends who have had to try a few different brands before their DC have settled.

ffaux I hope you get your day to yourself. My DH can be similar in always expecting at the weekends to have his internet and Xbox time and just assumes I'll look after DS all the time. If I'm doing something he'll look after him but then as soon as I'm done he "gives him back" as it were!

ffaux hope you got your day to yourself. I worked out the other day the only time I have been away from E for 3-4h is for doctor and dental appointments, perhaps I need to grab a day to myself some time soon. She is a great napper though so I am more up to date with admin than pre maternity leave so it would be for shopping or a massage I think. DH happily takes her though does tend to need to be asked to 'tag in'.

Dom E has guzzled down the odd Aptimil but it was bought on a whim for emergences with no comparisons. There is somebody in my Antenatal group who could probably give you the lowdown on all UK brands if you could stay awake long enough to listen without wanting to poke your own eyes out

Transition to cot (well cotbed, it is huge) went well last night, no waking at all 11-5.39 for the first time ever. May have missed a trick in leaving her camped in a moses basket to 14 weeks..

I am not timing waking to the exact minute - thought I had typed 5.30 above!

We had nap refusing yesterday all day which was stressful but DD2 made up for it by sleeping 6.30-2.30 which is a mammoth 8 hour stretch! now if only I could get her to bed later and shift her sleeping patterns along... just put her to bed now, so hoping she does another long stint tonight.

I haven't left DD2 at all really, probably the longest I've been apart from her is an hour or so . I'm not hugely bothered about it or in any rush. Really ought to start pumping to try her on a bottle but I can't really be arsed. Expect it will come back to bite me in the arse later on! I'm going to Bristol to see friends and family next weekend and wondering if I can risk going out for the evening to the pub after putting her down. Sometimes she wakes as early as half 10 but sometimes sleeps till midnight. I could try and pump some milk just in case but that would mean trying her out on the bottle this week which means having to dig out the old bottles we tried with DD1 (to no success).

I get a few 'isnt she big' comments about dd2 (91st centile) but it doesn't bother me as with dd1 (50th centile) I always got 'shes so tiny!' comments even though she wasn't and it did my nut in.

Thanks for the formula info.

After yesterday's lack of poo you'll be pleased to know it all turned up in a tidal wave of poo this morning, in our bed, on the fresh, white sheets!

That was fun!

I am trying one arm out of the woombie tonight. He fell asleep nicely at about 7, then woke up about 7:25. I've been sitting with him since waiting for him to fall asleep again. (pretty good really, he hasn't cried at all, and is lying in his bed. Just awake.) The loose arm has been flailing around, even when his face is nearly asleep, the arm was going. Tucking a little comfort blanket into his hand seems to help!

I figured we needed to start getting his hands out as he's started rolling onto his sides (not managed all the way over yet).

Re: size comments - we've had none. He's about 60th centile now, so pretty average. But I was the one exclaiming about the tiny tiny baby at the clinic the other day. 10 weeks and only around 7lbs. She'd been born early after having a poorly functioning placenta, so she really was tiddly! (A whole pound less than DS2 at birth). She was so cute though!

Nobody move. I think he's asleep.

Dom DS does the flailing arm thing too. Sometimes he manages to calm it himself by playing with his hands, but other times I do the same and give him a comforter to hold. We got given one that's a little fleecy rabbit holding a blanket between its paws. DS looks ridiculously cute holding it 😍😍😍

Today has been awful. DS would only nap in 20 minute stretches and took 2.5 hours to go down for the night, going down at 8.30 with lots of struggle.

Sincerely hope it's just because we're away and not the new normal!

Ahh, Me! We have two but this one is a little lamb holding the comforter! So cute!

Sympathy, maybe. It probably is because you're away. Fingers crossed you have a better night.

You are all moving too fast. I've just had a mammoth read to catch up and have forgot most things!

Maybe Tuesday was like that here and it was hell so you have my sympathy. E refused to even sleep in the pram when we were out and about which is unheard of. Hope you get a decent night.

Time magic Nanny touch eh? I think our babies just like to make us out to be liars.

Aptamil for us too Dom and it's been fine so far.

Ffaux I hope you did get your day. I spent a day away from E when I did a keeping in touch day and I have been out a few evenings too. I'd quite like a few hours at home alone really to just veg about. Not sure that will be happening any time soon!

E is doing good night sleeping at the moment but am not going to get all yay smug about it. Putting her to bed upstairs around 7 is working at the moment. And last night she did 7-11 and then 11-5 which was fab. No stirring in between either and needing her dummy. We'll see how tonight goes.

Hi to everyone else!

Awful night last night urgh 😴 DD2 seems to have got a cold from absolutely nowhere and was up snuffling and waking every 1-2 hours from 6.30. had a screaming fit at 4.30 when we tried to give her calpol and DH sat up with her so I could sleep till she needed feeding. Now he's sleeping whilst I try to get her to sleep in the sling as she's knackered but she keeps coughing herself awake, poor thing. It's going to be a long day...

Sympathies marmite. Heinous night here too - every 1-2 hours. No cold though. I expected a crap night as we're away and he'd hardly slept all day but didn't make it any easier! I'd just got him to go back down at 6 but he then did a huge poo so I had to wake him up by changing him - could have cried!!!

He's asleep now and has been since 7.20 so fx for a better day.

Blimey, I can't keep up either! I'm sure there were many things I wanted to reply to but I have no idea any more!!!

Massive sympathy to those having sleeping difficulties. We've mostly been alright but have had some bad nights nights and it's a killer. Ours is usually when she hasn't slept much in the day, then after a bad night she struggles to nap and it all becomes a vicious cycle.

Dh stayed out last night after a party, it was in a field and I took the kids home at bedtime, my first whole night solo. It was fine, bedtime for ds could have been quieter but he was so tired it didn't matter. And our usual time I need dh - when ds needs his bum wiped while I'm feeding the baby - happily hasn't happened this morning. I have to take him to rugby tots this morning though and will need to take the baby with me - parents have to join in so taking her is not ideal, should I take her in the sling or in the pram and hope she sleeps???

I'm also experimenting with breastfeeding clothes and branching out from jeans, loose top and long vest. I now own an actual nursing dress and a denim shirt dress - not really me, but closer to me than jeans, I'm usually a dress and tights/leggings kinda girl. Doesn't help that I'm still at least a stone overweight, more like 20lbs if I'm being honest with myself. Just ordered a lovely flowery dress someone posted on a Facebook group I'm on. What's everyone else wearing?

swear I've started to try to branch out too as got sick of vests and jeans. Realised how not bothered I am these days about popping a boob out in public haha. Just bought a lovely khaki green button down dress in Dorothy Perkins and a couple of shirt dresses too.

Actually had our 1st decent nights sleep in a while, down at 9:30, fed at 3 and 5 slept until 7 and now napping (on me so I'm pinned to the sofa) Had a day at the beach yesterday so think we wore him out.

Will catch up properly now, a couple of sunny days out and I'm all behind on posts

I live in jeans and t shirts (not bfing) - not very imaginative! I am starting the 5:2 diet tomorrow. I lost all my baby weight only to start putting it back on with all the cake and biscuits I am eating while on maternity leave. I did 5:2 before I was pregnant and it's one of the only diets I have managed to succeed on so hopefully it works for me again!

I'm permanently in jeans and stretchy tees or shirts. I'm BFing and the fitted dresses I lived in before are just no good for getting a boob out. I have one single nice outfit - a phase 8 wrap dress that survived covering my bump and is easy to wear while BFing. I'm keeping an eye out for outfits that are good for BFing and still 'me' but have had no luck so far. In the last 4 months I have bought 1 pair of cropped jeans. If my Amazon cookbook habit was also in check my bank balance would be looking good.

I'll be back in a mo to catch up fully, but thought I'd share:

Just spent a fortune on two new nursing bras (I've got some old & ill fitting cheap ones but figured since I'll probably be doing this for another year or so I may as well invest) from HotMilk and found a 20% discount code that actually works: MILKMAN20 if you're interested.

Ooh nice tip for the hot milk discount indom

Ive bought quite a few button down/stretchy wrap dresses recently which have been good for bf. Ive got most of them cheap on a Facebook selling group I'm in - "can I breastfeed in UK selling page". I've also been living in jeans and t-shirts and just pull my top up.

Dd2 has slept all day and is very snuffly so I'm expecting another bad night tonight. Joy.

Ooh Dom that's a good tip, is that directly from their website? I need new bras desperately, I'm wearing the ones I had with ds and both are pretty unflattering. I was going to wait until I lost some weight but that's not happening (my own fault... this week's low point was hiding from ds in the kitchen so I could eat chocolate fingers dipped in clotted cream )

Ooo we need a new thread

Has anyone made a new one yet?