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August 2016. Anyone got the hang of their babies yet?!!

374 replies

plimsolls · 12/10/2016 18:57

Thought I'd start a new thread. Unimaginative title but E has spent the whole day grizzling/feeding/sleeping on me so I'm running on limited capacity!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
BellaGoth · 27/11/2016 18:26

This one has men B again, doesn't it? DD was really unwell after her first lot but it was a few hours later. What time is the party? Is it much later?

peardrop2 · 27/11/2016 18:45

It's in the morning so we would be home after lunch. Party is 45 min the car though Confused

BellaGoth · 27/11/2016 18:47

I'd go for it tbh. Make sure you take calpol. Hopefully the party will wear your DS out so you can spend the afternoon chilling out and cuddling the baby.

Biscuitswithtea · 27/11/2016 19:19

I would probably do it too. Take your sling. We were okay after 4m jabs; she mostly slept on me for the rest of the day but wasn't particularly shouty about it. If it's a party then plenty of spare hands if you need it for a few mins.

peardrop2 · 27/11/2016 20:12

Thanks ladies Flowers I've had them both all weekend because my DH has been with clients and he won't be back until midnight tonight so another day at home tomorrow isn't exactly very appealing right now. Dd is so clingy as she's still got the last bit of cold and cough anyway so I'll definitely have her in the sling which I would do at home anyway. I think the journey might be the worst part but then she might sleep through it. The nurse told me to take calpol with me to the doctors. I'm just about to try and put Dd down so that I can pack tomorrows bag. I'm still in my pjs Sad I had a bad night with her last night and barely got sleep so I didn't take them out today. Instead I bathed them this morning and DS had a great time for about 1.5hrs Grin Even Dd stayed in for 45minutes. They seemed to both enjoy it. DS then had a big nap this afternoon but I still managed to get him in bed by 7:30 so I'm giving myself a big pat on the back! Now if only Dd would let me put her down now Hmm

peardrop2 · 27/11/2016 20:14

Hope you all had more sleep then me this weekend Wink

peardrop2 · 27/11/2016 21:06

No, Dd won't let me put her down. Argh this is so frustrating. 4 months on and I still can't put my child down. I don't even know why I'm surprised as I couldn't with DS. It's just that my to-do list is massive on top of looking after a toddler and I feel so stressed knowing I can't do any of it. At 9pm the last thing I want to do is put the sling on Angry

peardrop2 · 27/11/2016 21:20

Turns out that sleeping bags are pretty much pointless in my household because Dd is such a sicky baby Sad She now just fits in the. Jojo one I brought but she's already been sick in it twice tonight Hmm

Whattodowithaminute · 28/11/2016 03:37

I never smelt of baby sick in the same way with the other boys, this little boy is greedy and then sick and tonight is a farty windy boy on Top of it, pear I don't know how you've managed 4 months of this!

peardrop2 · 28/11/2016 03:41

What lol not exactly managing well at all Sad

Whattodowithaminute · 28/11/2016 07:39

I think expectations and what constitutes coping changes doesn't it? Today if I can get through the day get the kids to and from school, feed them then that should be enough, if I can do it without shouting then I'll be pleased 😁

Whattodowithaminute · 28/11/2016 07:41

Is anyone dream feeding?

peardrop2 · 28/11/2016 10:01

OK so DD didn't get her jabs this morning because her temp is slightly over. 37.1. The nurse said she wanted to wait. So now she won't get her jabs until after we return from holiday and now I'm obviously really worried as we're going somewhere with loads of children and Pools etc Confused I always thought she would have all her jabs by then. On top of that my car has stopped working. Definitely not going to any party today Sad

I might call up a health visitor about the jabs. This is really unlucky Sad

Biscuitswithtea · 28/11/2016 18:57

Oh that's a crap day pear. And frustrating about the immunisations.
For what it's worth we took DD swimming at Center Parcs when she was c11wks old and had only had one round of jabs and she was absolutely fine. But maybe we should have given that more caution!?!

We aren't dream feeding. Mostly because in the main her sleep is fairly decent and I don't want to screw that up at all.

So we have tried offering a bottle three times so far. First was a howling failure; the other two have also been fails though without tears. She just can't work out yet what to do with a bottle. Hmmm. My planned dinner in 2wks time is looking a bit iffy!

peardrop2 · 29/11/2016 07:54

Thank you Biscuits Smile** It felt good to share my crap day on here Grin Hmm that doesn't sound very promising with the bottle progression Confused You don't sound too bothered so that's good?! I haven't tried a bottle for a while but I can't see how it would be any different for us as last time Dd had absolutely no clue what to do and just gagged a lot. I have no weddings or huge events to attend next year so I am happy to continue ebf. Soon will come the day when Dd will only require night feeding sob! I say sob but I remember it being quite a relief when my DS stopped day feeding as I never enjoy public feeding!! Night feeling was much harder for me to let go Wink

I am still feeding every 3 hrs day and night so dream feeding doesn't really come into it for me sadly. She takes so little. Each feed lasts no longer then 10 minutes and she is still only interested in one side at a time. I am guessing that all this contributes to how many times she feeds. I am hoping to go to the breastfeeding club this week as I would really like to know how long she should be feeding and whether at this age she should be going more then 3hrs between feeds. I know the answer will probably be "every baby is different bla bla bla" Grin

DH has today off work so we hope to be productive! Even though DS is off nursery so I have my doubts Hmm I was hoping my mum would have him but she's too busy with her new annoying puppy Sad Talk about bad timing. The amount she goes on and on about her dogs..::puts me off having dogs for life!

As DH has today off he did the night shift for me. As in he kept Dd downstairs and brought her up at each feed. He said it took from 3:30-5am to settle her. I bet she was still hungry as she does often require a second feed before going back to sleep. He is the worst for understanding the signs Confused Oh well at least I feel more human today Smile

Biscuitswithtea · 29/11/2016 10:39

I'm okay with no bottles, mostly. The occasional opportunity to go out for more than a strategic hour would be nice. More crucially I miss the prolonged one to one time with ds. Part of that is the natural adjustment to having two children. But equally once dd is less exclusively dependent on me then that will change a bit.
I love the relationship that DS has developed with DH since DD was born (previously he was very much a mummy's boy) but I also miss the relationship that we had.

Biscuitswithtea · 29/11/2016 10:45

Oh and she still feeds like a fiend by day so you're not alone Pear

peardrop2 · 29/11/2016 11:13

Ahhh Biscuits I sooooo know what you mean. My boy has always been a daddy's boy but it has ramped up a gear since the arrival of Dd Sad And I was a little Envy before Dd arrived Grin Now everyday without fail he asks if Daddy is going to wake him up in the
morning Hmm I didn't have a father growing up because he was ill so I am over the moon really that my children have such an amazing father to play with and miss.

FourForYouGlenCoco · 29/11/2016 12:55

Ahhh pear that is lovely, I often think that the trade-off for barely getting to speak to DH some days is that I get to see how amazing a dad he is. It all deepens those bonds - I love him as the father of my children as well as my partner. It sounds like your DH is doing a good job of stepping up and helping out, long may it continue!
Very frustrating about the jabs, but I wouldn't worry too much about holiday. DS has been going swimming since after his first lot and he's been fine. Annoying that you have to faff about sorting it out when you get back though! And fingers crossed your car isn't too poorly and can be fixed up with reasonable ease (and not too much money!). Fwiw re coping - I think you come off as doing a bloody good job! Your kids are fed, entertained, looked after, loved - you're ticking all the important boxes here, you're doing fine. Agree with what re changing expectations. And I also think that in a few years' time (when things are much easier), you won't look back and think 'oh I was so lazy, I should have done more housework' - you'll look back and think what a fucking trooper you were and how well you did in tough circumstances, and you'll give yourself a little secret mental medal for getting through 👍 Cut yourself some slack FlowersChocolate
Biscuits preaching to the choir here I'm sure, but have you tried different styles of bottles? DD was a bottle refuser til we finally worked out that she would only accept 1 certain type. By which time we'd spent hundreds on rejected bottles, but at least she didn't starve to death when I went back to work Grin
DS will take a bottle no problem, but he's had them much more regularly - I knew I wanted him to take a bottle as necessary, so he's had one every week or two since a few weeks old.

Well we finally succumbed to the lurgy here; both kids absolutely streaming with cold. Coupled with the tail end of the 16w sleep regression that we STILL haven't sorted, and it's been a tiring few weeks! DS isn't a screamer but he's been howling his head off in the middle of the night - I actually woke DH up the night before last, for the first time ever. He drives a long way for work so I never normally wake him, but I could feel myself completely losing control and needed a break for a little bit.
Last night was much better though - he woke about 10pm last night for a feed, so I gave him a bottle (as breast seems to make him really windy at night for some reason, I think maybe he's a lazy feeder when he's tired) and he slept til 5.30 (!!!!) so definitely trying that again tonight to see how we get on.
4 month jabs done this morning - told a white lie and said he was fine, when he's actually still working through the end of this cold, but I figured if I waited for 100% health, it'd be spring before he got them. He was all smiles to the nurse right before she did them, broke my heart, my poor trusting baby boy 💔 All done though, lots of sofa cuddles scheduled for today and no more jabs for a while now!

peardrop2 · 29/11/2016 20:08

Ladies, as always you're fantastic at calming me down and reminding me what is real! Thank you Flowers You're right. I need to lower expectations big time and stop giving myself such a hard time Wink I think I spend a lot of time trying to keep up with mothers around me who simply just don't face the same challenges as I've been hurdling. I'm sure behind closed doors they have their own hurdles but I do strongly believe that the difference between coping with a baby who sleeps in the night and one that wakes every 2-3hrs is massive so I do need to just tell myself to get real and just be thankful for surviving the day. Well said ladies!

OK so I've started to pack tonight. Not achieved a lot as I am now feeding again but if I could just pack ds's clothes that would be a start! I know we don't leave until Monday but without DH help I find it tricky. Dd has decided that she doesn't like the sling Hmm This is not helping anyone Grin We have Dd christening on Saturday so I'm just trying to be as organised as possible! I've just booked a blow dry at the hairdressers. It seems so glamorous but I know that if my hair looks nice then I'll feel great and then it's only the case of slipping on a dress before getting the children ready!! Truthfully I feel it's not often we have photographs together so I want to look my best!

BellaGoth · 29/11/2016 21:06

Ooh, I'm very jealous of all the daddy / DC relationships! DH puts no effort at all in to parenting, the only contribution he makes is to put the TV on for DS and sit next to him playing on his phone. Hmm DS only ever wants me which is quite tiring! Love him to bits.

I'm dream feeding, DD goes to bed at around 6.30 pm and then I dream feed her at around 9pm. Sometimes she doesn't take it though. Never did it with DS, on the rare occasion he was asleep in his cot I didn't dare risk waking him

Pear hope the car doesn't need too much work, and that DS wasn't too disappointed about missing the party! You ARE managing, and doing a damn good job by the sounds of it. As Dory would say, just keep swimming.

DH is away for 3 nights so I'm flying solo. How come every time he's away things run much more smoothly? I've managed to get loads done tonight!

Biscuitswithtea · 30/11/2016 08:29

Def lower expectations! I know I need to so that at times too.

Yesterday I felt knocked sideways by it all, and it should have been an "easier" day as DS was at nursery. But DD spent the day throwing up, we both had multiple changes of clothes (even my pants Shock).

"Just keep going" is a mantra in our house too :) What we realised was we have had a stressy few weeks for one reason and another, that has passed - and yet we still can't rest, because the children need us to keep going all the time. I wouldn't change it but it can be helpful to remember to be kind to ourselves amidst it all.

Coco which bottle worked for you in the end? We played bottle roulette with ds to no avail, am reluctant to try zillions this time but am happy to try another (currently having no joy with Tommee Tippee. Closer to nature...apparently not according to DD!)

AlfieTheRailwayCat · 30/11/2016 09:03

biscuits we've had limited on/off success with - bottle. DH and I had an event on Saturday night and my parents came to babysit, I fed her up until about half 6 and left s bottle for bed but she wouldn't take it from my mum, just used her fingers to go to sleep, then I lifted her at 11 and dreamfed. She didn't the same the week before when I was out on my own, took about an 1oz of my DH then went to sleep. I think she's just waiting for me!
Dreamfeeding is working quite well for us now as long as it's in the total dark and I don't talk. But it's only been the last week or so that DD has consented to going to bed earlier, previously I couldn't do a dream feed as she wasn't asleep.
Agreed with watching DH with DD it's so lovely to see him become a dad!
pear I really wouldn't worry about holidays and jabs, she will have some immunity already from her other sets. DD has hers today, I'm not looking forward to it!

Brittanyspears · 30/11/2016 12:50

Right ive been crap/away/forgot about this thread. It wasnt on my watched list but I remembered and found it.
Just caught up!

I can sympathise biscuits i have a reflux , silent reflux, windy baby here who stays up at night grunting & farting. Have also been down the ranitadine and Gav routes. Currently sleep pattern has returned to newborn aka colic screaming until 12. Feeding every 2/3 hrs (ebf).

Fourcoco i am hope your mum gets some respite soon

Ok ive forgotten everything else i was going to reply to!!! Confused

PlasticBertrand · 30/11/2016 15:31

Our big struggle at the moment is getting DD to nap / sleep anywhere but in a sling. I cannot for the life of me remember what we did with DS. I'm back at work in January so we have to crack it before then :-(