The March-ers 2019 - Baby Talk #2

[Angelmiracle]

Thread 2 for all our newborns ❤🤗👣

She has her 16wk jabs Tuesday. Can't remember if you give calpol before or after? Also was everyone's little one ok after? She was fine after the 8wk ones, just a little sleepy, hoping she's fine with these ones.

Hello ladies, can I crash this party? I've been trying to find people to chat to with babies around the same age but to no avail! My lb turned 18 weeks yesterday. I think we have some teeth in the post but it's hard to tell because he can be quite grumpy a lot of the time anyway haha! He's been a very dribbly baby for weeks now and sucks and chews EVERYTHING but the grumpiness has been a bit worse for past couple of weeks. In his defence he did have colic and a bit of reflux which has bothered him more this last couple of weeks too. He also cannot "self sooth" which results in me bf him to sleep which I predict will be a nightmare to break away from in future but I try not to stress about it as I reckon he needs a break after Colic-Gate.

I know I shouldn't wish his little life away but my god I cannot wait until he can sit up without assistance. He doesn't roll fully as yet either hmmm.

Welcome, @Brobot! We're in the same club of refluxy, grumpy babies. And I'm also regretfully wishing my little boy's life away, so we can wean and hopefully get out of the Reflux Hell.

I'm currently lying defeated once again on the bed after spending hours trying to get little E to sleep/stay asleep/go back to sleep. I did the usual bath, etc and then let him snuggle and feed to sleep as usual. Then he tends to wake 45 mins later (to the exact second) so I stay beside him because he panics and wakes up fully if I'm gone. Today we bought blackout curtains (god damn summer nights!) in the hope that when he woke that first time he would think it was just night time and go back over (during the night we have no problem as he basically just taps me for a feed and we all fall back to sleep- by far the best thing about bf) but he decided to chat to himself, which was fine, but kept feeding and therefore adding to his wind and every time he drifted off he woke up arching his back and we were back to square one!

So I gave up and texted my husband to come upstairs and save me lol. He came and took little Reflux McColic downstairs to march him about in the carseat. Not in the pram. Walking. Walking the carseat around! This is what it takes now. I'm exhausted. Every time I think I get a bit closer to a semi-doable bedtime routine it all blows up in my face.

There. Rant over. (For now)

Hi everyone,

Haven't had a chance to catch up on everyone's news just yet, but wanted to say hi and hope you're all coping with the various things these babies are throwing at us. I think we are now going through the 4 month sleep regression. Had some nights last week where little man was waking up at various times and would simply refuse to go back down. The only way he would sleep would be on me which made for some very uncomfortable nights between 1 and 5am 😴😴😴 hoping it is just a phase! He does seem to have developed some lovely new traits this week which might explain the sleep issues. I saw briefly @melissa112 saying about sleep regression aswell, how are you getting on now?

@Brobot welcome and sorry your having a tough time getting little one to settle/sleep at night. I have no advice really except have you tried white noise? When my little one gets fussy at night this usually helps her.

@ballanj think we are going through it too, the past few nights she's been waking around 3am, not crying just really fussy and noisy and she stays like that till around 6am. She will only really settle back if I lay her next to me in bed

Hi, bit late to the party but can I join in? I was in an April ante-natal group that died a death as a lot of the parents moved to a facebook group and I ended up having a march baby instead.
Freddie was a honeymoon baby (our first anniversary was yesterday) and I also have a 15 year old daughter from a previous relationship. Freddie was born 29/3/19 and is exclusively breastfed. He’s a bit of a chunk having been born at 9lb6 he’s now over 16lb at 14 weeks. He loves the bath and has just worked out how to get his hand into his mouth and to roll from back to front, although he then gets angry as he’s not the biggest fan of tummy time yet!

@kee80 I gave him some Calpol but couldn't really say if it helped. Luckily he's been much happier over the weekend so maybe the teeth have stopped moving about and giving him trouble. With the 8 week jabs, I gave Calpol while the nurse was prepping things. I've seen lots on the Facebook group that babies struggled for about 48 hours after the 16 week ones but no experience myself, ours are next week.

@AssumeItWasSomethingClever the bearer of good news 😆 a month?! Who designed these babies to have a leap for a month?! I think we're lucky so far, he seems to have a very sleepy day and then a day or two later he's not very happy but (fingers crossed) he seems to be his normal self in for the days in between. Has your LO's feeding improved any over the weekend?

We're only 3 and a half months and I don't think I could say we're having a sleep regression because we don't seem to have started the good sleep yet in order to regress!! We had a few nights sleeping through then went back to waking once then slept through for about 2 days and have been waking once or twice since then. There doesn't seem to be any logic to his waking either - originally he would wake at 1ish then it started getting closer to 2 until he was sleeping until about 4-5 before he needed a feed. He woke at 2am Thursday night, 4am Friday night and then midnight last night. Where's my routine?

Welcome @Brobot and @Footymum81 that's good going to roll at 14 weeks, especially back to front. Happy anniversary for yesterday!

So it's exactly year today I found out I was pregnant.

I still don't know how people do one test and believe.

I genuinely tested every day for about 3 weeks, and then after they probably once a week till my scan 😂

@kee80 that's great that she's rolling onto her front even when she doesn't like tummy time. Is she quite happy to stay on her tummy if she has put herself there? We have our 16wk ones on Wednesday and will give calpol as it includes the Men B one which I think is the one that can cause a temperature.

@Brobot hi and welcome! Another one here with a dribbly baby who just wants to eat everything! I've felt his gums and there is a sharp bit but I really don't know what I'm looking out for. He isn't much more grumpy than usual apart from nap times so not sure we've hit full on teething yet. I wouldn't worry about feeding to sleep, just do whatever works for you and your little one. Oh and yes white noise works for us too as @kee80 mentioned.

@ballanj hi! Sorry you're going through it too. I'm not entirely sure whether we are..I mean he is waking up and busying himself but not enough for me to need to get him out or feed him so I'm not sure. The night before last he woke at 5am but that was just the light i think, last night at 2:30am and was sucking on the feet bit of his grobag but once i popped the dummy in and held his hand he did drift off. He then woke again at 5 but i think that was the sun as he drifted back off with a hand hold. So he is waking more but its not every hour or anything. Aw what has he been learning this week? I get so excited when they do anything even remotely new!

@Footymum81 hi and welcome! Thats amazing that he can roll so quickly, and back to front too! Glad to hear I'm not the only one with a baby who doesn't like tummy time! Happy anniversary for yesterday too!

@Jenfur it sounds like things are progressing in a good direction if you're getting some nights sleeping through, although its probably hard to think like that when you have a few days in a row of waking at random hours. Maybe the heat is causing him to wake? My LO has been more unsettled with these higher temperatures..?

@WhatALearningCurve omg i saw the pics before i saw your post and was convinced you were announcing some news haha! Oh i did the same with taking so many tests, just felt too good to be true.

Oh meant to add, where does everyone go with LOs in the day? Do you go out every day? I do try to but some days he is more tired or cranky than usual and we spend the day with him napping and me just not doing much. I do get a bit bored though and haven't really got many places to take him. We're doing one class at the minute, baby sensory, and i know most others finish over the summer. He's still hit and miss in the pram in terms of whether he starts crying after 20minutes so i dont dare take him to the supermarket. I did the other week and had to put it all back and come home as I ended up having to carry him, push his pram and couldn't then carry my shopping. Any ideas of places to go that are suitable and that he might enjoy? I still get paranoid about him being out in full sun and if he's in the pram he gets bored and whiny..

Me again 🤣 for anyone who is formula feeding, does anyone know when to increase the amount he is having? The health visitor said to me at 6 weeks that when he is consistently finishing a bottle to up it. However, he was weighed last week and was 13lbs 12oz at 16.5 weeks and still following his 20th percentile curve nicely. I overheard them saying to another lady that they should have 2.5oz for every pound. At the rate he was putting on weight I'd say he has put on at least another 4oz to get him to a stone/14lbs. So based on the 2.5oz per pound he should have 35oz a day. He has 5x7oz bottles which is 35 but he's been having that for way over a month now, probably 6 weeks so was always having more than the recommended 2.5oz per pound. He is finishing them pretty much every bottle and has been for at least 2/3 weeks now apart from his dream feed when he'll have about 6 as he's too tired. Would you up the amount to 8oz or stick with 7? Thanks for any advice!

@Footymum81 welcome I also have a 15 year old from previous relationship.

@melissa112 my little one has 5oz every 2-3 hours she doesn't always finish the full bottle but most of the time she does. Ive just put her up to 6oz now that she's finishing most of the 5 bottles. I just thought once they start finishing then to put them up but I'm not sure.

@WhatALearningCurve It's exactly a year tomorrow for me. Can't believe how fast the time as gone

@kee80 Thanks, I just gave him 8 on that last one but didnt pick the best one to try as he was so tired from fighting his naps that he fell asleep and only took the 7... so no idea what he would have had. Will try 8 again when he's more awake.

Hi everyone My LO will be 14weeks on Friday . Here some of you not having the best sleeping patterns . However are we not all being a bit wishful . I thought this age is still way too young for baby to sleep through? Without waking for feeds?? My LO past couple of nights has slept 10-10 waking 3-4 times in the night . I breast feed . So she feeds and goes straight back down and I am way more than happy with that routine. I'm not expecting her to sleep through till she's on proper meals. Way to go for anyone's LO that is sleeping through tho but if yours isn't I wouldn't worry . They have only just come out the 4th trimester . With all these leaps as well I wouldn't be surprised if they wake in the night. I'm just so happy to get sleep . From the new born days ... not that we want to go back and remember them early days of non existent sleeps. Got 12 week jabs tomorrow .

The issue we have is that he needs fed/rocked/walked to sleep. It's fine for now but too many people are so keen to tell me I'm causing major issues for myself down the line (as if I did it by choice- he had colic!). But then others tell me that with age they grow out of these habits when they are ready. I do attempt to put him down in his cot once he is asleep but he wakes up either that moment or not long after so I take him into bed with me.

@melissa I thought maybe my lo was teething and I've tried to feel around for anything but cant tell as this is completely new to me too! He likes to bite my finger but starts crying after so I'm not sure whether it hurts him or if he's frustrated about something!

I know what you mean about what to do with him each day. I tend to try and go for walks but as of the past 2 weeks he has decided he hates any mode of transport. All the things that usually soothe babies, he hates! He hates the car, hates the pram (sometimes) and he won't take a dummy! Which is funny because most parents I know would do anything to avoid their child having a dummy but with us it would be a step up lol. He just uses me as one lol. So some days I'll put him in the carrier and go a walk and depending on his mood we might just stay at home. At this age when he gets tired about an hour and a half after waking it's not too much of a problem (apart from the cabin fever) but when he is a bit older I will need to plan each day with at least one outing! Hopefully he forgets he hates the car soon because there are loads of things we could do and people we could visit but it's not worth it when he gets in such a state and it takes ages to calm him down when we get there. Speaking of which, we have his 16 week jabs tomorrow (he is 2 weeks behind as they were crammed for appointments) and have to drive to the other side of town 😣😣. Last time was horrendous.

My husband is going away overnight tomorrow too so I'll be all on my lonesome to deal with little E after his jabs and post-car journey 😭😭

@melissa112 I live in a village where you can walk into the nearest town in like 40 mins down what were the old train tracks but are now a "nature trail" so it's quite scenic and soothing.

Luckily little man loves the pram and although he sleeps most of the time he's in it, he likes looking at the trees and things as we walk. Plus theres always like 100 old women walking their dogs who give him a ton of attention ha.

I've started fully on trying to lose the post (and pre) baby weight so it helps me get my 10,000 steps in ha.

In terms of the bottle - if he's repeatedly draining the bottle then I'd up the ounces. I always think I'd rather have an ounce or two left over in the bottle than him wanting more

@melissa112 our babies are very similar in their feeding and patterns generally. I just recently upped little man's feed to 8oz last Thursday as he's been draining the 7oz for a good 2-3 weeks now. He was also getting really humpy when he'd finish a bottle and realise there was nothing left! I did wonder if the waking in the night might have been because he was getting more hungry and so far he's doing okay with the 8oz. He doesn't always drain it and sometimes might leave half an ounce but I'd rather offer it to him than not. I've not had him weighed for a while because it's very obvious he's gaining, but according to my aquascale bath he's 14lb and 10oz. But I don't entirely trust it so will see what he weighs at the children's centre this Wednesday. I think you just do what you think is right! Little one will soon let you know if he's not happy.

As for going out, I feel quite lucky in that little one is mostly content when we are out and about so I do tend to take him pretty much here there and everywhere. I joined a group called Busy Lizzies which is basically a mum and baby fitness group where you can do classes and take baby along. Charlie really loves laying with the other babies and because they have different women looking after the babies at each session, it really gets him used to seeing lots of different faces. So along with those classes, I will take him food shopping and also my parents live a good 45 minute drive from me so I try and see them once a week. I also have a fair few friends with children so we try to make play dates when we can. I do like a couple of days a week indoors though, so I can try and keep on top of house stuff xx

@jenlou1992 @Brobot
I think those mums who have babies sleeping through are lucky! I'm grateful we're getting any sleep. As for his overnight feeding, I think he might be on my boob almost through the night these days. As he sleeps on me, sometimes he just roots around a bit and latches on and I'm still half asleep, so I'm not even sure what's what.
I've been chatting to a couple of sleep consultants, as our current situation is far from ideal and practically none of them is willing to do any sleep training with a baby younger than 6 months. So I don't think it's such a burning issue yet, to have them sleeping through or anything like that.

Hi all I’m just catching up we were away last week with a rubbish signal I had to resort to reading a book during the night feed!
Welcome to the newbies it’s lovely to have you on the group.

In terms of what we do during the week we go for walks either in the pram or sling, shopping, we do a messy play group, baby massage, nct group, play at home. To be honest at this age they are happy just seeing and hearing you so I give a running commentary on what I’m doing and she seems quite happy.

Welcome to all of the mums who have joined this thread recently! @footymum81 I think there was a Facebook group for the March people when we were pregnant but I didn't join, I like to keep my actual life and my online life separate!

@ballanj we also go to Busy Lizzy. I like it as you can cancel at the last minute without penalty. Mine also loves grinning at all of the other babies and bopping along to the music. Like you, he's generally quite a content baby so I take him out most days and just get on with life as much as I can... We've got a network of mum friends from NCT and pregnancy yoga plus other people I've picked up along the way so there's usually always people to meet up with if we want to @melissa112 we generally go to play cafes or church playgroups. Basically the kind of thing where you pay a few pounds (or usually free at this age as they don't do much) and then buy cakes/tea whilst your babies "play". They're not normally for profit so are usually quite cheap and you know it's not an issue if your baby starts screaming.

@brobot good luck with the jabs! I know this isn't what you want to hear but my baby was quite off for a few days afterwards and we had to max out on the Calpol dosage as his temp was about a degree higher than usual so bordering on feverish (the thermometer was orange).

We are currently on holiday. Baby has been exemplary (including on the plane) whilst husband and I have been ill today... Fun times.

@Brobot I really wouldn't worry about baby needing to be fed/rocked/pushed to sleep. Our little one pretty much needs to be cuddled or be rocked in his Snuzpod to go down. Today I had to cuddle and rock him for 20 minutes as he refused to go down for a nap even though he was clearly tired. He then napped for two and a half hours which says it all really!

Don't listen to people saying you're 'setting yourself up'. They are still so young in the grand scheme of things and whilst we do have a routine in the evening and are incredibly lucky that for the majority he sleeps through, we also have some nights where he wakes randomly, won't settle and I will bring him into bed with us. It's not every night so I'm not concerned I'm instilling a habit. Something I said I'd never do before I had a baby was have him sleep on me. Turns out you just do what you need to do! They have so many leaps and spurts at this early stage, that to think you can set up a form of routine that will get stuck to 100% and that baby won't deviate from is unrealistic in my view. I guess what I'm saying is that as time goes by, I feel more confident now in saying 'I know my baby and what's best' so don't doubt what you're doing is best for you both.

You have all made me feel much better about the sleep situation. And in fairness to him, it is always a particular issue that wakes him so I don't mind cuddling him as I'd probably want cuddled to sleep if I was in pain too, bless him.

Thank you for the warning about the jabs. His 12 week ones threw him off a bit so I'll brace myself for a storm ha! I've enlisted the help of my mum to help me console him afterwards and because I have to see the gp after and don't think little E will be in a very good mood lol.

I wish I had found you lovely ladies a long time ago as I would have had a much easier time after the birth if I'd had people in the same boat to talk to. I found it incredibly hard. I still do, but I suppose hormones are still up the left. My husband will be off work in Friday, Monday and Tuesday for the 12th (we're in northern Ireland) so I'll have someone to share the load!

Thanks for those tips on upping the formula. We upped to 8 yesterday and in the main he mostly has taken 7.5 each time apart from just now where he has taken 8!

@Jenlou1992 absolutely, i am very fortunate that for the most part my little one sleeps through the night and am aware that it's not the norm. Aside from just this group, I've seen many posts where most babies aren't sleeping through at this stage. I think there is a growth spurt too as well as the ongoing 4th development leap around 4 months so as you say, its no wonder they wake up.

@Brobot I'm glad you are feeling better and glad we could help. I agree, this group is absolutely amazing and have been an amazing support to me too throughout pregnancy and now with our little ones here. Hope all goes well tonight with your husband away, just do what you need to do to get through and I'm sure there'll be someone around here if you need a chat! I'm the same with a baby who hates the pram. I really do think its because he is so nosy and can't see anything out of the carrycot. I still need to get myself a carrier, which do you have?

@WhatALearningCurve that sounds like a lovely walk. I love old railway lines, they go through some lovely countryside. I really wish mine was better in the pram, he does love the trees too and makes these really cute noises of wonder when he can see the sun shining through.

@ballanj yeh they do seem quite similar, i think they had the same due date too from what i remember! He seemed happier on the 8 and didn't wake last night even though he only took 4 at his dream feed so i do wonder if he was always wanting a little bit more. I got really excited about Bizzy Lizzies after doing a little google but there isn't one near me. Your little man sounds so chilled. A supermarket trip at this point seems like a pipe dream haha.

@Wineandchoccy how was your holiday? Thanks for the ideas, and i agree, they really are fascinated by every day things aren't they. I found mine just staring at me the other day while I was hoovering, he was engrossed!

@cardboard33 oh no, sorry to hear you and your DH aren't very well, hope you are both feeling better soon. Your LO sounds like he's being a little star. How long are you away for? Thanks also for the ideas. I think i feel a little nervous and mum and baby type things but i dont know why? I tend to prefer things focused on the baby where we can interact at the play time bits. It would be nice to have more mum friends in real life so I'll have to bite the bullet i guess!

@kee80 hope the jabs go ok today.

@melissa112 @Brobot when I say mine loves the pram -he's only been in the carrycot about 4 times ha. Our car seat lies flat and attached to the pram chassis so I put him in there and he loves it because he can see everything.

When I went on holiday I also got a buggy suitable for newborns and he loved that. Purposefully got one that could be parent facing and if I'm honest he preferred being world facing ha. My mum uses that now when he's at here.