The March-ers 2019 - Baby Talk #3

[Angelmiracle]

Thread 3 mamas

@WhatALearningCurve it's so nice to hear that I'm not alone in feeling like this. And omg yes the eyes!! I called DP in when he woke up to show him, so weird! Unfortunately I cant see his chest moving as he sleeps with his legs pulled up to his chest so he can hold them. Cute but means he just looks like a small bundle of stuff and I cant see anything. I keep trying to hear breathing, sometimes I can but then when I cant I panic but it must just be a quieter or lighter breath. How often do you go in to check on him? We've started at every 15 mins so we each go up every half hour but then I panic about overnight eventually when I'll be asleep!

And @WhatALearningCurve you were right about sleeping better. He woke a couple of times and normally once awake we would have to settle him for ages..this time we just popped his dummy in ,put a hand on his chest and said good and left the room and he went back to sleep. Although he did go swimming today and is always shattered after that so could be a fluke!

Ha said goodnight not good. My phone is playing games with me!

@melissa112 I have become a pro at discerning the tiniest of movements of the sleeping bag ha. I don't go up that much because my house is another creaky one so I don't want to risk waking him. I tend to go up maybe once an hour? But now I've dropped the dream feed I'm able to go to bed so much earlier so that makes me feel more relaxed - just being on the same floor as him even if I'm watching tv in my room.

However - we started putting him up to bed on his own when he was approx 12 weeks - maybe a bit younger - so when we first started doing that I checked a lot more. I'm just more confident in him sleeping.

@AssumeItWasSomethingClever mine used to be a nightmare to put in the snuzpod. I'd be up in the room for ages trying to get him to sleep - the first night or two in the cot was difficult because of the rolling but honestly he goes to sleep so much better in it? (That's not me showing off ha, just hoping that yours will be the same!). If all else fails I know a lot of mums that have got into cots with their kids ha

Just wrote all that and obviously mine just woke up ha. Think he's back down after a bottle but fingers crossed!

@AssumeItWasSomethingClever I have the exact same issue. How the hell am I supposed to get him to sleep in the cot when he needs me to lie beside him!? I thought we'd made a bit of a breakthrough because 2 nights ago I put him in his cot asleep and he slept a good couple of hours before waking. Last night and tonight however have been a different story. He is sooo grouchy and having none of it. Terrible mood all day and constantly whining. So he's in bed with me and even then he took ages to settle. Normally I just throw the boob at him, tuck him into me and that's that. Tonight he kept fighting to roll about and seemed super pissed off so I just had to wait until he knackered himself.

@melissa112 we don't have a set bedtime as we tend to just work around his naps (they vary in length so cant plan the day around them). We've tried putting him down earlier, later, I different places etc.

Quick question- those formula feeding, how much do you give them? HV said to do weight in kilos x 150 divided by number of feeds a day, but that works out as 213ml for 6 feeds a day which seems like loads? I've been doing 180ml, but often he drains the bottle... am I leaving him hungry do you think? Big step today - dropping the morning feed from me so he's only getting two breastfeeds today. Eek.

@BadBadBeans we're on 7oz a feed which is 210ml but it's rare he eats all that every time

@BadBadBeans oh and he had 5 bottles a day - usually having between 4 and 7 at each feed.

I really dislike my mum right now.
First she gives me practically a guilt trip for not having sex with DH yet. Now she spoon fed LO with banana while we were still asleep. He's not 6 months yet and we want to do BLW, so we did give him pieces of fruit to hold and try himself, but I don't want to really wean him yet! And now she's offended because I said I don't want her to do it.
I just really want to go home now.

@whatalearningcurve mine has fortunately always been pretty good at self settling so we can generally just put him down and leave him to it, but when he needs more settling we just sit on the floor next to the cot and put our hands through the bars and gradually retreat... Is this an option for you? We've honestly found he prefers his new set up much more than the Chicco as he can get up to all kinds of acrobatics in the cotbed. He's sleeping for longer than he did previously (now wakes up around 8 rather than 6.30) and also only waking up once in the night so you might find their sleep habits change anyway once you've moved them?

@melissa112 like others we've been leaving baby upstairs until we go to bed since he was about 12 weeks so we had practice before putting him in his own room. But I'd also say it's much harder for you and your partner than it is for baby, he will be loving having more space.

@badbadbeans we only do one formula a day but we've just upped it to 210ml. He was on 180ml until about a week ago, and is just over 7kg. He sometimes has the full 210 but not always. So glad to hear about your opp btw, we are also trying to drop the feeds and am apprehensive about it. The breast feeding has all gone so well and it's really easy so don't want more hassle in my life with bottles etc.

@sheeni so annoying, that's really undermining but people seem to think they can do that with parenting and get away with it. Also glad you survived the smokey in laws!

@Sheeni I'm super miffed for you!! Firstly about guilting you about not having sex! How is that her business?? I've attempted it once and it's nobody's business but ours. I'd be fuming. Also- very annoyed about the sneaky spoon feed too.

@AssumeItWasSomethingClever George has only been in his room for two days, second day being today and just for naps and first part of the night. We said we were only going to put him down drowsy but we've ended up putting him down asleep. He did actually wake a few times last night but went back to sleep which he never would have done downstairs with us. Maybe with your baby G you may find the same but I don't have much advice as I was surprised that we've got him to sleep in there at all. Just come back to this after I typed the rest. He's woke up and wont settle..

@WhatALearningCurve oh how did you drop the dream feed? Did you just not do it one day and he was ok? You can have your winter nights in bed yay!

@Brobot that sounds tough, wonder if hes teething maybe if hes being a bit more upset than usual. Hope you've had a better day today.

@BadBadBeans we usually give 5x8oz bottles a day. Mostly he drinks just below the 8, some he drains and the odd one he just takes about 5oz. We have been doing that since he was about 4 months at least when he was consistently draining 7oz at each bottle. Hes only 20 percentile weight though so no idea where he puts it. When I last had him weighed I heard one of the HV at the clinic saying to do 2.5oz per lb of weight a day but that that was just a rough guide. I'd say if he is consistently draining the bottle to up it maybe and see how he gets on. They said to me that he should leave about an oz, so that way you know they've had enough if that makes sense. Hope the morning feed drop went ok!

@Sheeni I'd be really annoyed by those things too! It's not up to her to decide when you are ready to have sex!

@cardboard33 well we have started weaning and as you found too, the high chair tray is too high. Not sure what to do..he hated all of it. He picked up some avocado and tasted a bit. Cried..We took the tray off and put him against the table but by then he really was not in the mood and just kept whinging when he saw the food. Tried him with a melty puff and he ate that... but then saw the actual food again and started crying. He.had had an unsettled day and was tired so maybe it was that but I'm feeling a bit disheartened and worried about the high chair tray!

@melissa112 I ummed and ahed over it for a few days and then just bit the bullet and thought "worst case - he'll wake up and hour after I usually do it for a feed". Which he does tend to do - but he's definitely just more settled overall.

I'm impressed by your little one tucking into avocado and melts puff. Mine just won't go near anything - I've got him to lick toast like twice but otherwise he just plays with it and won't put it near his mouth

@melissa112 thank you; I think she's gorgeous but I would lol. It's not weird that you're nervous to move George out of your room. I'd keep him in with you as long as you need to but getting him upstairs in the evenings will be a good practice run for you until he grows out of the snuzpod.

@AssumeItWasSomethingClever it may take a few nights but you'll find a new routine that settles him in his cot. I did the pick up put down method with my first and with Missy I held her until drifting off and then put her down as she wasn't playing along with pick up put down. She now self settles 90% of the time and we're getting 6-7 hour stints from her some nights.

@Brobot it's so hard when they have those phases. I hope it passes quickly for you.

@Sheeni that's so frustrating. Why do people, especially close family, get so funny about these things?!

With the weaning I'm doing mostly baby led but with some pouches as well for convenience. My girl is a foodie and if she sees you eating she screams until she has something in her hand - so funny! Coordination is still a bit sketchy (lots of peas on the floor tonight!) but she's getting there. I find she cries mid feed out of frustration so I do step in to help her at those times but if she's tired it's pointless doing anything other than stopping for a nap.

@WhatALearningCurve I did think about dropping the dream feed but then noticed he always starts to stir, still asleep, but fidgeting around 10pm. He usually has his dream feed around 10:30 so I reckon he would wake up for it. He takes the full 8oz most often at that bottle so think he likes it ha. I'm like you though and would love to come up to bed early but I probably would get too cosy, fall asleep and then feel horrid when he woke for the dream feed. Honestly the melty stick was probably a fluke. He wasn't even sat in his high chair, just on his dads knee and then when he saw the food again he started screaming. From reading on this group I'm on it seems maybe him being tired wasnt the best start. Tomorrow is a new day and all that. Are you doing BLW? I think licking it is a great start. Definitely sounds like hes interested.

@HidCat thanks. I think I just need to build that confidence and feel like he'll definitely be ok. I think i worry because he likes to hold his legs in his sleep so his sleeping bag always goes near his face, the excess bit at the bottom. Never actually seen it cover his face but he can chew it. So just want to watch him for a few weeks and make sure it's ok. Does your little one do that first bit of the night alone?

Ha sounds like she loves food too!!

@melissa112 ermmm technically I guess I'm doing a combination approach but realistically I'm just trying everything and hoping something works ha. I've got some plates and bowls coming tomorrow that suction to the high chair so hoping they help because then I can do purées but let him put his hands in it which he keeps wanting to do but it sends it everywhere

@badbadbeans (and everyone else)
The sex thing is real. My libido's non-existent, I never have the mood or energy for it. We tried for the first time yesterday as we finally had the opportunity, but it was too painful and I practically clamped shut.
My husband is actually really amazing about it, although the lack of sex shows and he's a bit like a horny dog around me.

@BadBadBeans he was 14.14 on the 4th Sept so about 6.8 kg?

George's first night in his own room went surprisingly well! He was knackered though bless him as my MIL came round so he missed his 4 o'clock nap. I took him upstairs at about 8 and put him in his grobag and after a bottle (and a good few minutes of crying) put him in his cot. I did have to shush him for a couple of minutes but he went straight off. He still woke at 3 for a bottle which I gave to him whilst he was laying in his cot. He drifted back off so I left but the door shutting woke him up. 🤦🏻‍♀️ we cant leave it open because of the cat. By the time I went to the toilet he had fallen back to sleep by himself which has NEVER happened before! He woke up again at 7.30 for an hour and is now back asleep. So pleased with him bless him. Fingers crossed tonight is as good!

@WhatALearningCurve ha we are having things flung round everywhere too. He got particularly fed up with a strip of banana that was too slippy and nearly launched it. Might leave that for a while. Interested to hear how the new suction plates go, I'm needing some too.

@BadBadBeans ha yeh I'll have to take some pics. I think I do have one somewhere. I've just seen him on the monitor lift his legs and pull it over his head but I do think he couldn't stay asleep like that as it lasted only a second and then his legs fell back, he would need to be bent in half for ages. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out over the next few weeks and I'll see how far it can go when he's awake. Interesting about the prep. We've used one since about 4 weeks when we switched to formula and haven't had any issues but that isn't to say there aren't any, I wouldnt like to think he could get ill 😔 ha omg your friend and the comforter! I would be a nervous wreck! Yay for J being put down awake and settling!

@AssumeItWasSomethingClever that's amazing, go George! Great that he settled himself too!

Weaning went better today than yesterday. Put a towel under his bum to make him higher and tried him with omelette and a spoon pre loaded with greek yogurt. This time he got the hang of it and loved the yogurt. I do hold my breath when he gags but I've read its normal and not choking. He does this little shudder when he actually manages to get food in his mouth, so cute.

@melissa112 / @BadBadBeans / @cardboard33

That's a good idea about the towel to make them higher! I might steal that idea

I'm fairly certain the perfect prep fear comes from a few years ago when people were using off brand filters that weren't working correctly with the machine so water wasn't filtering properly and that's when the mildew happens. Tommee Tippee released a new version of the PP and have loads of warnings on about using the correct filter. It now also tells you when you need to prepare for a filter change and when it needs to happen before it'll make another bottle.

From what I can see about stage 2 milk - they put extra iron in it because babies natural iron reserve starts to deplete at 6 months - in theory they don't need this extra iron when they're on 3 meals a day because their iron will come from food. However - when weaning isn't going exactly to plan they'll be losing iron and it won't be getting replaced?

@assumeitwassomethingclever that's so good! We had similar when we moved him to his room. How was last night?

@badbadbeans thank you so much! We can do this together :) I'd also heard that about the stage 2 milk so we'd already decided we'd just stick with the stage 1 stuff. It seems like something that's been made by the manufacturers to get around the fact they can't advertise the from birth stuff, but they can do it if it's follow on milk. I'd also heard that about perfect prep (and deliberately didn't tell my husband incase he said we should do it the old school way) but I figure it can't be too bad or they'd need to stop selling them and/or there'd be so much more press about it. I'm in a similar boat to what a learning curve. In terms of bottles I'm hoping he is on 2 a day from 10 months as then he can hopefully have one of frozen breast milk until he's one. Who'd have thought I'd be saying that this time last year...! Or even 7 months ago!

@melissa112 glad it's going better! We tried yoghurt a few days ago but he just sicked it all up. He's also had scrambled egg. I've got a bit worried though now as he was really really struggling to get poos out yesterday (he'd only done one in two weeks) and it got to the point where he was screaming in pain. I gave him a prune sachet and that sorted it out but I'm now worried it's because I've been giving him too much stodge and not enough fruit etc. I try to give him fruit and veg each time but as he eats so little it's not like I can confidently say he's getting a balanced diet but then I also know that at this stage it's supposed to be complementing milk rather than anything else.