TTC First Baby Catch-up With Our Babies Continued!!

[ELW85]

Hi all

As I’m rubbish and keep double posting I thought I’d start a new thread as we’re nearly at 1k.
I don’t have all of the OG’s so apologies for anyone I miss or anyone I miss in general (blaming lack of coffee this morning!!)

@Delilah7 @RanchoRelaxo @MrsR16 @thumper59 @trashkitten10 @Bostonfern @crossfitgirl @Fivebyfive2 @MrsEG @purplefig @LarryDavid @Lemonysherbet @Stormtrooperjulian @MrsH497 @LokiCat @Cupcakesandglitter

So much to catch up on! Regarding work, I'm 'returning' to work at the start of the school holidays next week (Teacher) as that's the equivalent of our annual leave and I'll be back in the classroom two days a week from September when Daisy will be 10 months. I had to change jobs and teaching jobs only really come up three times a year so I had to go with this plan really but it will be fine. Luckily my parents will have her one day and MIL will have her the other so not having to think about nurseries just yet.

@MrsEG I've only tried making fudge once and it was really disappointing, don't know if it was the recipe or my technique 😂

Hit post too soon.....

Being back at work is OK, its been a bit overwhelming cos I've gone back into a new role and I've felt a bit useless, but I'm starting to get used to it now and I'll be getting some training soon which should be helpful. I'm really glad I'm working from home though so I can stay close to Dex, would be much harder if I had to leave him.

Ugh... Dh is seeing his friend who's up from London, so obviously Joe had a screaming fit 😮 Gave him calpol in case it's his teeth. Binned off feeding him his ready brek in case it's his tummy. I just took him upstairs, fed him milk and he conked out. He's in his snuzpod, I'm downstairs with a hot chocolate and a book. I hope he's OK tonight?!! He's been fine all day as well, so I just don't know. 😕

@Fivebyfive2 thanks for checking up on us!! Ethan actually slept last night (thank god!!) - he woke up at about 8 when we put him in the car to go home from PIL and then had his bottle and was asleep by 9. He stirred 3 times overnight, but I just put his dummy back in and he was fine!! 😊

I will try and catch up with everyone else! You ladies have been busy on here today!

Evening all

It’s the first night of not swaddling. God help us all. He’s already got both arms above his head. Surely if that’s how he relaxes he should sleep better? I know I’m kidding myself but I reeeeeallly can’t be arsed with loads of wake ups!

I feel awful about even thinking about going back to work at 7 months now. Had a chat with DH and I don’t think he’s best pleased “people told me this would happen; are you ever going back to work?” But I’ll get over it.

@purplefig - because Finn had such an awesome night I typically couldn’t sleep. Lay awake for about an hour after his 2am feed just watching him. Psycho! Haha!
How have the naps been today? Sorry you had a rubbish night.

@Fivebyfive2 - oh no! Poor Joe! Are you ok? Does he seem like he’s settling?

@stormtrooperjulian - thanks! I sent them an email about the house today for a viewing even though we aren’t proceedable yet...

Sorry if I’ve missed anything. Had a bit of a shit day.
Catch up soon guys, have a lovely evening xx

@MrsR16, Aaahh I'm glad Ethan had a better night! Hopefully he's turning a corner? Xx

@ELW85, it's so tough, my dh gives me proper side glance if I say how i don't really want to go back/go back full time and I'm like 'I'm just saying how I feel, it is not like I'm actually going to give up work'!! I hope you hear back from them about the house xx

Well! Joe had 2 little wakes between 6.45 and 2.45...he then woke, fed, looked like he was doing a poo so we checked...nothing! He then spat up everywhere and started laughing 🤦‍♀️ Dh is downstairs with him now, changing him. All I can hear is 'dadadadadadaaaaa' (his new favourite word as of today (or yesterday I suppose!) God knows when he will go back to sleep, but at least he's not screaming the house down anymore 😂

@Fivebyfive2 oh you sound like you've had a fun night! 😂 hope he got back to sleep fairly promptly! Ethan did well last night! He went to sleep at 8ish, stirred a couple of times as normal and woke up at 6! DH let me have a lie in today, which was really helpful. He would have let me have longer, but I've got the second half of this course to deliver today 😂 aw, bless him saying "dadadadad" - Ethan's discovered "mumumum" and it's really cute!! xx

@ELW85 it really is hard! I was convinced I was going to go back to work after my paid mat leave runs out, but I'm definitely taking another month if not two! The worst thing I find is knowing what things will be like in 8 weeks - 8 weeks' notice to return earlier than 9th December is a long time! 🤦‍♀️ how did Finn do without being swaddled?

@Fivebyfive2 - exactly!! I am of course going back but to be honest if BoJo is telling everyone they don’t need to wfh then I want the winter off whilst Covid soars again thanks very much! Talked to him about it this morning again and he seems a lot more relaxed; just doesn’t want to obliterate our savings and wants me to understand that he’ll have to go to nursery one day. Of course he will. I get it, I just think if Finn is the only one we end up having, I want to enjoy Mat leave!

Oh Joooooe! You’re such a little night owl! How was he? Did he resettle? So cute that he’s calling for DH though 💙 xx

@MrsR16 - cross post! I just feel a bit lost with the Mat leave. I was 💯 that I wanted to go back ASAP and now I just think I want to enjoy it a bit more. Again, especially if the Covid stuff is being lifted because frankly I think we’re headed for a huge second wave and I don’t want to be in the office or even have Finn at nursery. Which I know sounds stupid. If they keep letting us wfh I still think I’d want a little more time. I’m very conflicted as you can tell!

Well Finn went to sleep without his dummy last night. Had a little whinge at 11.30 but got himself back to sleep. Feed at 3 and at 6.30 would absolutely not resettle because his hands were all over the place. Better than 5am though!
It’s really hard with his hands and arms, not being swaddled. He sleeps with his arms over his head but will rub his eyes when he’s drifting off which stops him from sleeping so essentially I had to try to pin him down with a blanket.
I have no idea how I’m meant to leave him to go to sleep on his own if he’s flinging his hands all over the place?!
How was Ethan?

@ELW85 I absolutely understand where you're coming from!! You'll come to a decision and it'll be the right one 😊 it really does take a little time for them to get used to not being swaddled! We had a couple of rough nights with Ethan when we first unswaddled him, but he soon got used to it! Ethan did well last night, thank you! He was so exhausted, he slept for 10 hours!! 😂

@TrashKitten10 I can’t believe it’s the school summer holidays as of next week! Where has the year gone!! Fab you’re getting so much family help with childcare!

@stormtrooperjulian It must be so tough going back after mat leave in to a new role; are you getting plenty of support? It sounds like my work has gone through a massive restructure while I’ve been off, a whole new HR team, company rebrand... it makes me feel so nervous about my return as I haven’t used that part of my brain for so long!

@Fivebyfive2 Ah poor Joe, how is he this morning? God love DH for taking him on at 3am; mine would be like trying to wake a hibernating bear!!

@MrsR16 I’m so pleased to hear Ethan is sleeping better for you now!! Just a blip hopefully!

@ELW85 We haven’t swaddled the boys at night in yonks, they’ve been in sleeping bags since 3 months at night time. They do flail and wriggle but they’re just getting comfy! They’re down for a nap at the mo and this is how they both like to sleep - Conor on his tummy with his butt raised and Ruairí on his side! I put them down feet to end but literally within minutes they’re wriggling in to their fave positions!
It’s tough with the return to work; so easy to have it all planned out before they actually arrive! I have a friend who’s baby was in FT nursery from 3 months as she’s self employed. Everyone’s situation is totally different so please don’t compare yours to anyone else’s! Just do what feels right for you guys.

Happy Sunday all! Boys had a good night but Conor woke up a few time’s with his arms sticking out of the bars of his cot - he could so easily pull it back in himself but at 2am clearly he can’t be arsed and wants mum to do it instead!! We’re going to the park today and I’m gonna try them in the baby swings, see how they sit in them! It’s such a lovely day up here today. The park cafe is open now too and all outdoors / very spaced out so think we’ll be stopping for a vino too :)
Have great days all!

@MrsR16 - yes Ethan!! That’s some stretch 😊 God I really hope the non-swaddling gets easier!
@MrsEG - it’s good to hear everyone has different nursery experiences, thanks for that! Your park day sounds wonderful! It’s our photo shoot pt2 today and I’m dreading it!

Finn’s sleeping position of choice is totally starfished. He loves his arms above his head and this is fine but he still jumps a bit when he’s in light sleep which then makes him rub his eyes and reminds him he’s not quite asleep so gets whingy etc.
I really hope he gets used to it!

I mean, the actual state of this!!

@ELW85 Ah bless him!! Ruairí used to sleep identical to that absolutely sparked, he prefers his side since he learned how to roll! I wasn’t a fan at first (and HATED Conor sleeping on his tummy) but my mum was saying ‘how many people do you know who sleep flat on their backs all night long?’ Which made me feel a bit happier that they were just finding their sweet spots!
Ah enjoy the photo shoot!! I’m sure it will be absolutely fine!

Hi all!

I'll try to catch up properly....

@MrsR16, so glad Ethan had a good night 😀

@ELW85, Ha ha aaahhh bless Finn, he is adorable! Joe sleeps like a starfish too, here is a pic from Friday afternoon when I didn't bother with his sleeping bag (or his snuzpod!) My nct friends are all saying about their babies moving around /rotating in their sleep and I'm like 'yeah Joe basically doesn't move at all' 😛

@MrsEG, enjoy your day out, it sounds lovely! Xx

Well... Joe was wide awake at 5.15. He's napped 7.15 till 8.15 so will probably go back down about 10.30/45 and hoping he has a long nap as that's been the rhythm recently. Going to mums for Sunday dinner today 😋

@MrsEG - that makes total sense! I’m sure Finn will be much happier in a different position, like you say it’s just finding his comfy place once he feels secure enough that he doesn’t have to be on his back.
God I hope it goes ok. I fancy a coast walk later and CBA with more hospital trips!

Just to clarify I was sitting up in bed reading when that was taken so I could keep an eye on him!

@Fivebyfive2 Enjoy your Sunday dinner! Ha oh bless him totally zonked!! The boys really started wriggling when they went in their own cots, I’m sure they were like ‘All this room for activities!’ Haha! Hope Joe has some good naps for you now. Crazy how we plan day to day from nap to nap don’t we!

@ELW85 I’ll keep everything crossed the hospital trips are over!! We were so similar in the first three months, A&E trips (one for me as they thought I had sepsis but of course carted the boys along too!), then the docs with the reflux and eczema... it finally feels like it’s calmed down this past month! A coastal walk sounds absolutely lovely. Have you got all Finns best outfits ready??

@Fivebyfive2 - sorry, cross post! Joe is soooo cute!
I’m literally sat pinning Finn’s arms down to try and get him to sleep. Absolute nightmare!
He’s obsessed with them at the moment but I really hope he grows out of it quickly or I’m not sure how he’ll fall asleep on his own!
I’m so jealous of your Sunday dinner! I’ve not eaten yet and am starving.

@MrsEG - I can’t decide if Finn would be better in his cot. Extra space to kick about and tire himself out but the way he’s going with his hands is like he gets tired because he’s playing with his hands but then doesn’t drop them to fall asleep. It so infuriating if I’m honest!
Only one outfit for today on account of the fact that we took her studio time last time with him wailing the place down when she put him on his front.
I’ve got him in a lemon t-shirt (was meant to be a white polo shirt but I’ve washed it and don’t have time to get the creases out) and navy dungarees.
I’ve got a Navy Boden dress on and if I ever get the chance to put my make up on this morning, I’ll take a photo 😂

On our way home from the photos now. We got some family ones and a couple more of Finn but he was tired and had another bit of a meltdown but he’s fine. Just hungry and tired. So we don’t have a full gallery but from what we’ve seen they’re lovely.
Why can’t I just have a chilled baby who falls asleep anywhere and who doesn’t care where he is?
I’m sure I’m just over reacting but I don’t get his temperament at times!

I'm totally having a 'failed at being a mum already' morning!!

This child just hates sleeping!! At 10pm he was in the cot blowing raspberries?! He'd self settled earlier as well, but just kept constantly waking?! This morning his usual 7.30 nap went out the window, he finally went down 15 mins ago... He was up at 5.30 as usual 😬

On the plus side, he had a big poo this morning, while dh had him 😂

How's everyone feeling this morning? I think we're at my parents again today while dh is at work, gonna chill in their garden.

Some pics of Joe yesterday (see he does sleep sometimes!)

@Fivebyfive2- I spent the majority of the night comforting Finn as I’ve ditched the arms in the grobag so now I have to wrestle him to get him to stop staring at his hand with his arms in the air to get him to sleep.
It’s a freaking nightmare.
He woke himself up loads last night with little cry/whinges because he’d flung his arms up and woke himself up.
I’m shattered. Tell me this gets better???!

You haven’t failed. It sounds really developmental to me if he’s blowing raspberries etc. I know that doesn’t help you right now, but it’s definitely not you!

@ELW85, yeah we struggled when we stopped swaddling Joe, it's hard! Oh my god, the hand fascination! It's like they're litle stoners, amazed they have fingers 😂

I think you're right, he's just got too much going on in his little head; we left him for a bit to see if he'd go off again and all we heard was 'mamamama' 'dadadada' and raspberries... Then crying!!

He's still asleep thankfully. I could be napping, or eating, or cleaning... Instead I'm in bed, scrolling through buzzfeed lists about one tree hill and the oc 😂

@Fivebyfive2 - how did you resolve the swaddle issue? This may well be the death of me 😂 I’m gutted as he’s just started putting himself to sleep and now he rubs his eyes as he’s tired which fully wakes him up then he cries cos he doesn’t want to be awake?! WTF??

The fact he’s saying Mama and Dads though!! OMG how beautiful 💙 and worth it!!

I was getting more comfortable leaving Finn to nap but not at the moment! So I’m doing the same as you but just flicking through MN 😂