The March-ers 2019 - Baby Talk #3

[Angelmiracle]

Thread 3 mamas

@Cardboard33 I just came here to ask the same thing!
Lockdown is starting to get to me. G is bored so is acting up a bit. Ive run out of ways to keep him entertained.
How are you doing?

How is everyone doing with sleep? G is miles better than he was and is even having 2 hours of naps a day! He's still waking up once a night though. Is everyone else's LOs sleeping through? X

Hi all

Pretty much the same here. George is bored and starting to have what I can only describe as tantrums. Full on fall to the floor screaming and goes all floppy when I try to pick him up.

He wakes up once in the night for his dummy to be put in. Even though its next to him and glows but ah well! He used to sleep til 7 but its between 5 and 6 these days. Guessing with the lighter mornings..we have blackout curtains and blinds but I think it's just going to be this way for a while.

Nursery have posted to say they are opening from 1st June but dont think we'll be sending him just yet. I'm torn because I know he could do with the social interaction. I'm WFH at the minute for the foreseeable and just about managing as my partner is also WFH.

George is having milk in the morning and before bed but still only takes it out of the bottle. We give him a tommee tippee sippy cup for his water in the day. Anyone managed to successfully transition off the bottles completely?.

Hope you're all safe and well x

Hi both... Yeah, lockdown is starting to get to me too. I'm in the "shielded" group due to my chemo so have only left the house 3 times (to go to the hospital) since mid March. I miss independence and being able to do things when I want to do them rather than waiting for my husband to do them on my behalf. My baby (toddler?!) is also clearly getting bored and has got very very clingy which lots of my NCT friends have said, as whilst I appreciate we are very lucky with a big house and garden, he's spent the last year going out literally every single day and seeing his "friends" multiple times a week, then suddenly all of that stopped. I'm worried about the impact that this will have on him, as I suspect that they're just going to say "continue to shield for the indefinite future" which is just unworkable and not fair on him, particularly if all of the other kids start going back to childcare etc. It feels like the gov think that everyone in the "shielded" group didn't have much of a life anyway so is fine being told "don't leave your house for a minimum of 12 weeks and do some sudoku or jigsaws to keep your spirits up" .... Hmm.

@melissa112 we've mostly transitioned off bottles but he still has one at bedtime because we haven't found a big enough cup... We were expecting it to be really hard but it wasn't. Have you tried giving him morning or evening milk in a TT cup?

@AssumeItWasSomethingClever wow that's really good about the sleep! We are still mostly sleeping through although he cries in his sleep which makes it difficult for us to work out if he's awake or not. Naps are more hit and miss as he's making the transition to one nap a day but not quite there yet two naps feels too long, and I guess again he's just not as tired as he's not really been anywhere.

@melissa112 my George is exactly the same. He arches his back and throws himself backwards onto the floor. Why he hasn't worked out not to do it as it hurts him I have no idea! He's also having one bottle before bed but I'm worried about his teeth. We clean them twice a day but they still feel really rough and porous. 😬 not sure if that's normal or not.
@Cardboard33 that's so difficult, you not being able to leave the house! I wouldn't worry too much about him not seeing his little friends. I read somewhere that they don't need to socialise with their own age group until they're 2.5-3. But I know what you mean. They just seem to be a bit more fulfilled when they're with their little friends. It's lovely to see.
I definitely can't complain about the naps but it would be nice if he slept through considering he started doing it at 9 weeks old until the 6 month sleep regression kicked in. I suppose you can't have it all though!

Afternoon all!

E basically weaned himself off bottles - which doesn't help really but shows they do do it when they're ready.

He has one cup of whole milk before bed but water apart from that.

I keep switching between sippee cup and 360 cup during the day. I need to be more consistent with the 360 cup really so that I can then get him to have milk in the 360 before bed.

In terms of sleep - since lockdown I've actually had 4 nights of him sleeping through which had been incredible - I genuinely felt like I was on speed the day after the first time ha

Otherwise he still wakes up but it seems to be down to 1 wake up only which is either about 10pm or 5am. The 10pm is fine because I'm still up. The 5am is a nightmare because he just wants to be held so I end up leaving him to cry after having a bit of a cuddle because I just wouldn't be able to function the next day whilst I'm getting no break from him.

Teeth brushing - I'm really bad at this and need to get better at it. He does them at least once a day but I need to form the habit of doing them twice. I just get distracted trying to get everything else done so when he starts to get fussy at night before bed it's usually the thing that gets forgotten.

Mums who had their little ones in nursery before all this started - how have the nurseries been handling everything?

How is everyone? How are you all doing with keeping LOs entertained? X

@AssumeItWasSomethingClever hi! We are doing ok thanks, it's got easier as the days have gone on and fortunately (in London at least) we've been blessed with the sun. And only two more weeks of complete lockdown (I hope) for me. How are you doing?

We've been out in the garden most days, got swings, slides, paddling pools etc. What about you? How is yours napping these days? We have two naps probs every other day, really want to keep this going for as long as possible!!

Is anyone elses "talking" now? Mine has also started saying words, mostly beginning with "B" and his favourite word is currently "bird" which he must say about 10000 times from waking up onwards and only seems happy if he's in the garden looking at birds. Although he never actually seems to look at the birds when they are there and/or is too noisy so the tits, sparrows etc fly away when they do land, as there's a lot of nests near our house. We gave him a bird book so he could look at pictures of the ones he's "seen" and he was engrossed in it for ages.

@cardboard33 Glad you're well.i think it's getting easier as times going on too. All except keeping G entertained. We got him a sandpit for his birthday so we've been spending time in that and his paddling pool but he gets bored after about half an hour.
My days are currently spent reading every single one of his 12thousand books.
Without wanting to jinx it, sleeping is so so much better recently! He has Atleast an hours nap before lunch time and then that's it until he falls asleep for the night. Touch wood, he's been sleeping through for the past week too. 🤞🤞
Ah that's so sweet. Bless him.
We're the same but with "doggy". He also tries to bark which is hilarious.

@assumeitwassomethingclever Yeah, it's sometimes difficult to know whether they're as bored as you with just doing the same thing again each day or whether they like it because it's a predictable routine. What are his favourite books? We've got a lot but not quite 12k (that's the amount of times he goes on about birds...) but he always wants to read the same ones and if you read one he doesn't want to read he replaces it with one he does want so I know the hungry caterpillar etc off by heart.

How do you find the sandpit? We were considering getting one but worried about him getting sand in his eyes?

So cute with the barking sounds!! I don't think mine really knows what noises animals make but then he's not seen any (other than birds!!) in several month and even then it was mostly from a distance in the park. He's got farm yard animals etc so we do Old McDonald but he's more interested in getting them out of the box and then putting them back again. I assume everyone else is going through a similar phase?

Glad your sleep is going better, fingers crossed you've not jinxed it. Are you still working or have you been furloughed?

@Cardboard33 I think he does get bored. There was a few times last week he was very cranky and didn't want to do anything! I've stopped going on as many walks as I got really annoyed with people walking straight towards us and not leaving 2m space so we ended up going on the grass verge too many times!
I'm the same with the hungry caterpillar. I was really happy he liked it to begin with as it was a childhood favourite of mine. The novelty has well and truly worn off. I've tried hiding it amongst his other books but he always seems to find it. 😂
He gets on well with the sandpit. He has got it on his hands and then rubbed his eyes a few times but I think it's so fine it doesn't really cause him any discomfort. He's never cried because of it. I'd definitely look into getting one. the sand has been quite hard to get hold of at the moment though. I think everyone's had the same idea!
I work from home on a very part time basis (1 or 2 hours a day) usually anyway so the nap has really helped! What about you? Are you working from home? X

@assumeitwassomethingclever I get you, mine has also been moaning for very little reason other than for something to do. He has some weeks where it feels like he's gone back to when he was a needy baby and cried whenever I left the room. I've not taken him out for walks as I've been shielding due to the chemo (but can do as of tomorrow!!) but that's also been a sort of annoyance for me as I also feel like I've lost all independence over the last 10 weeks when I'm reduced to relying on my husband to do anything and usually I do all of the life admin. Mine really likes the Hungry Caterpillar, I remember reading it as a child but I wasn't obsessed with it. We say that what he eats on Saturday is like our baby as he eats loads and loads now, hehe.

Thanks re sand pit ... I think we will look into getting one but it'll probs be later in the summer/next year now as I think now I can take him places it will add a new angle into the mix as he's also not really been out much as his dad doesn't see the point in going out...! He's also been wfh meaning it's difficult for him to go out in the day. We both work for global big names which is good in the sense that our jobs are as safe as they can be and they're really flexible but bad in the sense that they need to be seen to be doing the right thing so they closed the offices well before the gov made companies close and they're taking all of the issues around social distancing really seriously (which is obviously good!) but it means that only 10-15% of the workforce can return meaning we both expect to be wfh indefinitely. That's ok now as I'm on sick leave but when I'm done with the chemo and return to work in Sept then I don't know what we will do as we don't have two study's etc. But I guess that's the same with everyone!! We will just get it 6 months down the line. What is it that you do? That's so good reg your hours, I think you changed jobs after mat leave or am I confusing you with someone else?

Hello everyone! Sorry I have been absent again. It has been so full on with two children, work and no nursery! However I now have time to put my feet up and catch up with the chat because... I had my double mastectomy yesterday! Yay! I got given 7.5 days' notice and had to isolate for 7 of those 😂 Very very happy it is over and done with. Feeling pretty stiff but I guess that is to be expected!

@Jenlou1992 how is sleep going now? You poor thing, sounds like you have had a really hard time. My husband sleep trained J about three weeks ago. J had been waking for a bottle in the night and taking an hour to get back down. My husband did a few days of letting him cry for 10 ish minutes, patting him, letting him cry again and now he sleeps through! Sometimes stirs and cries a little bit but usually he either sorts himself out or is comforted by a dummy pretty quickly.

@cardboard33 how are you finding chemo? I have been thinking about you. We have a similarly choosy baby with books here! My eldest loved any story you read to him and was very tolerant of long stories too, but J is picky and will shake his head hard if he doesn't want the story and lunge at the bookcase for a different one! I also have memorized dozens of books. I'm afraid I often recite them while thinking of other things 😂

We have a sandpit which J loves. His big brother is a menace and does pour it on his head occasionally but it brushes off all right. He did get a slightly pink eye one evening which may have been sand irritation but then again may not have been, and it was gone the next day.

J had also said his first word and it was 'please' 🤣 I was trying to get him to sign it but he said it instead! And now says it regularly in context. He makes a few vague animal noises too.

@melissa112 how are you feeling lovely? What happened with work and nursery in the end? Apologies if I missed a post.

@CaseofEllen what a ride you have had! Glad Noah is doing so well now.

In terms of sleep, J was one of those babies who never had 2 daytime naps. For months now he has gone down at 11am, woken up at 12.30 or 1pm, and that's it until 7pm! He goes to bed at 7 and usually wakes around 6.

[Edited by MNHQ: identifying info]

Oh and regarding bottles we now give him 150ml before bed and that is it. I know they should be off bottles by 12m but I'm going to give it a while more I think.

Hello All! Its been a while since I looked at this thread. I've just had a glance through and glad to see the babies, or rather toddlers, are doing well! Also sorry to see that a couple of you are having a bit of a crap time and are in the same situation as me. I was diagnosed with stage 1 trip neg breast cancer at the start of March. So far had a lumpectomy and now on chemo. Its hard work with a 14 month old! How are you coping?

@citybumpkin also, has Covid affected your treatment plan in any way? Were you able to have the lumpectomy quickly? I've felt so worried for cancer patients during this whole situation. xx

@BadBadBeans Sorry, I've been a bit out of it since diagnosis so missed your news. Glad you managed to get your head around the BRCA outcome and hope you have a good recovery from surgery. I'm stage 1 but triple negative which means aggressive (not fuelled by hormones). I automatically had genetic testing and am BRCA negative which should be great news but it means I've got no idea where my cancer came from. I'm assuming stress after a very crap few years.

I was dianosed two weeks after moving away from the UK so no family/friends to help out. Just me and DP. The semi lockdown has been lifted here but I'm reluctant to put DD into childcare due to covid and catching any other germs that are lurking. I just can't risk any of us being ill. Its a struggle! Some days I breakdown thinking we just can't cope. DP is WFH. His company have been great about it but DP loves his job and wasn't expecting to be a more hands on parent. Its been the source of many arguments.

On the whole DD is pretty good. She usually sleeps through the night. She started walking at 10 months so is now extremely active and some days I just don't have the energy. Mum guilt creeps in a lot! We're yet to get her to hold a spoon herself but she is partially BLW (done thar since 5.5 months). She seems happy and very switched on. Its hard to gauge when I no longer meet with other mums/babies.

My treatment plan changed due to covid. Here I was given the option of chemo or surgery first. It was a difficult decision but I opted for a lumpectomy first. I ended up with a seroma and cording and was in a fair bit of pain for a few weeks. I've just had chemo no.3 of 16. I should be finished by mid September then a month of radiotherapy. My side effects are mostly tiredness. Chemo no.3 has really zapped me.

Sorry that was a really long post

Hi all,

@badbadbeans yay! I'm so glad that you were able to have your mastectomy, at least now you can focus on the future rather than waiting around for that date to come. Your living situation with parents on tap but ability to spilt into two households sounds ideal in this covid 19 age! Has your job been impacted? My friend who works in publishing said it's really slow due to book fairs etc being cancelled so there will be fewer new books in 2022, hehe.

@citybumpkin I'm really sorry, that sounds like an awful lot to deal with and get your head around... Particularly within a short space of time. I'm not sure if you've read, but I'm also currently doing chemo (already had radio) for a brain tumour but I've know that this would happen for many years and it was Plan A to start treatment whilst I was on mat leave so it's a very different scenario. Mine ends in Sept too. I think our husband's are quite similar in the sense that sometimes mine has to do everything as I'm so tired (our parents live 3-4 hrs away but haven't been able to come as planned for the last two cycles) which I don't think he'd quite banked on, but oh well! We also don't have our baby (toddler?) in childcare. My medical team specifically said not to if we had any choice as it would heighten the risk for me, and this was pre covid. I have to say it'd be a welcome break though, and he's also barely left the house since March and I'm getting really bad mum guilt about it particularly now childcare is starting to open up. We are also not using forks etc as we have ended up doing mostly BLW and beyond him liking the spoons after yoghurt and dropping them on the floor, he doesn't have any because whenever we have given him them he just throws them off his table as he knows they're not food.

There's a really good charity (Mummy's Star) who support women who were diagnosed with cancer or who started cancer treatment during their baby's first year, you should look into it as they've got private forums on FB where you can talk to "people like you" if you want and also practical support such as financial. I think you technically have to apply for the grants before your baby turns one, but they might make an exception given you were moving and it's not like your loads beyond one etc. They seem pretty flexible.

@BadBadBeans It's always so good when the extra planning you do isn't actually required :) I like reading you talk about your house and quarantining off sections of it for different things as it makes me think you live in a gigantic mansion, hehe... although maybe you do, and there's nothing wrong with that either!

My friend's work seems to be sort of picking up now... she's got a few prospective client meetings booked in for later this month in the hope that they can go to a socially distanced cafe, haha. I suppose one positive thing for the publishing industry is that a lot of people might have decided that now is the time to write their one novel, if they've had more time than normal due to being on furlough (and without kids) etc. Glad you've managed to find work :)

Yep, we are the same on the "I'm just casually going to drop this food on the floor" front. He doesn't look where it's landed though, it's more he does this sly grin like he's thinking "I know you don't want me to do this, hehe" as he's doing it. It's cute in an annoying way!

@badbadbeans your house genuinely sounds ideal! Although for the price of my 4 bed semi in SW London we could probs afford a proper mansion elsewhere ... Then we'd have to invest in loads of furniture though, and there's only 3 of us. Does anyone else feel like they're living in some sort of soft play toy land with the lockdown? We've got toys coming out of our ears, 3 months ago it wasn't this bad!

That must be hard to get used to... Tbh mine still comes to me because I'm still the main carer. His dad is working for what feels like all the time atm. I'm hoping that my mum will be able to come down to help soon - awaiting for the new "rules" for the sheilded with baited breath on 15th! Stupid question, potentially, but how long does it take to recover "fully" from the opp? As I'd imagine it's quite delicate tissue? And is it a case that it's more of a physical recovery or is there mental stuff in there too? As in tiredness etc... After my brain surgery it was more the mental tiredness whilst it rewired itself rather than physical recovery per se, if that makes sense? But I'd imagine in your case it's a mix of the two?

@Jenlou1992 and @melissa112 how are you ladies getting on?

Hi everyone

Not been on here for about 4 or 5 weeks . Hope everyone is doing well . Ive had a tough time ...was working on the covid ward when it opened and doing ridiculous hours. Then around 3 weeks ago i found out my dad has lung cancer stage 3. Then 5 days after finding that out i found out my mum had throat cancer . Just dont know how its possible. My dad has already started chemotherapy..he has the more aggressive type of lung cancer . My mum starts radiotherapy and chemo on monday. Ive taken some time off work now as i want to be able to help out with appts and be there for my parentsn. Im only 27...not time for my parents to be sick. I know @citybumpkin and @BadBadBeans have some difficult diagnosis yourselves. Everything is made much more difficult in this lockdown!

I remember driving to my sisters to tell her that our mum also has cancer and i couldnt even hug her aa we were stood 2m apart outside . Im glad i have my baby to keep me strong in this horrible time ! .

I am still feeding rose .. ive not really given her much opportunity to feed herself. She has finger foods and is fine with them but whenever i make a meal and leave her with it she just plays and hardly eats any so i just end up feeding her . Any tips?

Re sleeping ... well she is better than she was . Still wakes a couple of times but is going longer stretches . Tonight is the 2nd night without the dummy. She only has it in the night .

Will try keep regular on here . Actually missed catching up with you guys . We should of got a whatsapp group going . Much 3easier to keep track x

@jenlou992 I'm so sorry for your news. My mums currently going through tests to see if she has bowel cancer. I lost my dad at 20 to cancer. Its all horrid and unfair but hopefully Rose will give you some comfort as you're going through this.

By feeding her do you mean you're feeding her the food on the plate?

E was exactly the same until about 2 weeks into lockdown? It was a running joke between me and my mum about what a little prince he was because he wouldn't dream of feeding himself. Even stuff like toast I was having to hold and her just bite bits off. Literally one day he just picked it up and started doing it himself.

I know that's no practical help in terms of tips. But hopefully Rose will be the same. Cut to this week and he's refusing to let me feed him at all so he's currently on the driest diet you've ever seen because I can't handle the mess of beans or pasta sauce etc all over the place!