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

@TrashKitten10 - to be fair the heat is awful and definitely isn’t helping anyone! I’m sorry you’re having battles too. Finn refuses car naps at the moment it I would also do a McFlurry run - sounds like a fantastic idea!!

@MrsR16 - yes!! Some days I can just hold him and he’s asleep, other days he needs a bit of a rock but he’d gotten so good at going to sleep himself. Clearly this is just going to keep changing so I think I just need to go with it or I’ll drive myself mad!!
A magnum awaits me, thank you for reminding me that I need to take time for me x

@TrashKitten10 - cross post!! That’s an adorable little foot! Did you just leave her to it? 😂

@ELW85 Since about 6 months I've been trying to go in, pat, shh, settle her down and then leave. Go in and repeat as often as necessary. She shouts and wails a lot of the time but it's normally a bit of a tantrum, ie no tears, grinning and playing as soon as I go back in. She's just being a monkey and doesn't want to settle. If I stay with her and fuss too much it just turns into a huge game for her so she's better left to it where possible. If she's really upset and actually crying I would take a more gentle approach. I'm quite hardened to the crying though as she's a complete drama queen 😂

@TrashKitten10 - haha! I couldn’t do that with Finn; he’s got a robust cry as the midwife called it. And he escalates himself pretty quickly to the point of choking on his tears and or making himself sick. It’s awful!

And here he is being a little weirdo...

Hi ladies! I'm typing one handed, eating a cornetto now that Joe is finally napping after 4 hours of being awake! Joining in the Me Time Party 😂

@MrsR16, Wooooo!! Go Ethan!! He looks so chuffed as well 😀 That's what Joe is trying to do, but I think it may take a while yet. He's settled for rolling everywhere for now, bless him!

@TrashKitten10, I'm glad you won the battle! Totally get you about dramatic babies... Joe was playing a very convincing 'poor starving child' part yesterday when I dared to take a bit of toast off him that he'd dropped, only to do a massive smile not 1 second after I handed him a fresh bit 😂

@ELW85, Aaahh Finn is so cute, it's funny how they love mirrors isn't it?! You're definitely not failing! My God, if you're failing I dread to think what I'm doing, at least Finn can often settle himself, when Joe manages that I literally have a party it's so rare 😂 About the 1 hour eye rubbing, could it be that's when he has a 'dip'?? I've read that some babies do and Joe definitely has one, although his is closer to 90 mins now. Just a thought, probably wrong! And yes, echoing above, definitely speak to someone else about your anxiety if you felt fobbed off earlier. Xx

Eeeeegh, is it Autumn yet?! I'm not a Summer girl at the best of times, but this is just the pits! Here is Joe pre nap, chilling with me watching Don't Tell the Bride because he'd been up 3.5 hours at that point and I was too hot and bothered to do anything else... Yeah, just send my Mom of the Year award in the post 😛

@Fivebyfive2 - I’ve just had a Magnum 😂 I also do terribly in hitter weather so bring on the casseroles and dark nights with the smell of fireworks in the air ❤️
And agree they definitely have a dip then but Finn just seemed cranky too so just now I picked him up after 50 mins, brought him up, dummy in, sang Bob Marley to him; out in seconds. Not one tear!!
So I’m thinking he can do longer than that usually but if he’s in an overtired cycle, it’ll take him a couple of days to catch up? No idea.
He’s asleep, neither of us are crying so it’s a win for today!

Urgh DH is stuck at work and we have a viewing at 6pm. ‘Tits up’ is how I think it’ll probably go!
Never mind, not a lot I can do now!!

I do feel a bit fobbed off I guess, but she seemed to think it was so low level that it wasn’t something I couldn’t just ‘get through’ so I’ll give it another week and see how it goes I guess...

Hi all!
Gonna try and catch up properly! We made it to baby sensory today, had been dreading it as the boys have been vile today with this heat but they did well! Conor kicked off a bit but he always does haha. For the most part they really enjoyed it and more importantly so did I haha! Went for a very cold drink with the girls afterwards and to feed the boys. I am SO done with this weather!!

@ELW85 the holding his arms to fall asleep - now, just me, I’m no expert, but I’d stop doing that. The boys LOVE wriggling about. It’s how they get themselves comfy. It can take a while, I can watch them roll 360 around the cot on the monitor before they go off but if I go in and try and move them they just start again. I noticed when I was trying to roll them back on to their backs, I was just making the situation worse and they’d keep waking. As soon as I just thought ‘sod it’ and left them to their own devices, they were fine. A friend likened it to me as adults - how often do we go to bed, lie still close our eyes and immediately drift off? You gotta take that time to get in to your comfy spot!!
I’m so sorry the GP was useless, echoing everyone else in either seeing another GP or just go private (if you can). Being brushed off is so so unhelpful!

@mrsr16 Ahh look at him go!! That’s it now. Get baby proofing everything!!

@Fivebyfive2 Ahh hun I can imagine you’ve tried everything under the sun!! He’ll get there with bedtime, they all do, in their own ways!!

@TrashKitten10 Haha! Last night after they’d had their theatrics in getting comfy for bed I literally couldn’t see Ruairí on the monitor he’d snuggled right up in one corner. I just had to assume he was fine, no way was I venturing in to check!! Took so bloody long for them to go off in this heat!!

Ahh I missed more posts just in typing that haha!

@ELW85 Fingers crossed with the viewing! Could be your buyer, you never know! Naps, agree - in this heat just take/do whatever! The boys have been grim, every nap today has been in the pram which I NEVER do but their room is a furnace! They’re just so cranky as well. They’re both currently stripped off next to the fan!

@Fivebyfive2 Oh god I am the same, so not a summer girl at all. The faff of it all! Suncream, fans, all the sweat - Give me spring or autumn any day!!

Some pics of the boys at sensory!

Hi ladies! Feels like I've been away for ages!! Sorry I haven't kept involved in the thread. Whenever I did get time to myself I'd either try and sort the house out or just enjoy the peace on the sofa (usually with a treat for myself - I have been indulging a lot!). I have been reading to see how you're all doing, though (also loving the photos on how they're all getting along 😊).

Alayna is definitely a very wild character! Her babbling has escalated to squeals 😂 her playmat time is also full of very energetic kicks and punches. Her arms and legs never stay still (she usually ends up kicking me often in the stomach/boobs whilst on my lap facing me)! We decided to get a paddling pool today (anything to get some relief from this heat!!) and I sat in there with her; she loved it so much. Her legs were kicking about all over the place!
She gets major FOMO though so day time naps are a battle and even trying to feed her is a struggle. She gets distracted so easily and either unlatches to give me a smile or look around before going back (x50 during every feed!).
At almost 16 weeks she weighs about 8kg, the little chunk, so is obviously getting enough!!

@MrsR16 look at him go! What a lovely video - so happy for you 😊 he's so adorable!

@ELW85 sorry to hear you're having a difficult day. I was struggling a lot with Alayna's day time naps (well still am). She also rubs her eyes a lot and following all I'd read about sleep cues, I was so sure she was tired and would try to put her to sleep. Usually she wouldn't fall asleep until 30 mins (sometimes even an hour later). So now I just see if she starts yawning and try then instead.
You're a brilliant mum to Finn! Definitely treat yourself - I hope you enjoyed your magnum!

@TrashKitten10 hahaha love it!! What an adorable foot. I hope you're still able to get a McFlurry for that win!

@Fivebyfive2 Joe is so adorable! Look at that photo 😍 I've definitely just given up and had Alayna on my lap watching Netflix with me (Selling Sunset is my current guilty pleasure). It's too much effort sometimes to entertain them any other way!
All of you are definitely making me envious with your ice cream - enjoy that cornetto!

@MrsEG that's so great that you enjoyed baby sensory! They've just started classes again at a community centre near me and I'm debating going to one next Monday, especially to meet some local mums. I'm really nervous about going out with her alone, though, incase she gets cranky and I can't calm her down 🙈 she's too curious about everything and will never nap is she's in a new place. Think I'll just have to go for it though.
They look so adorable in the photos - glad they enjoyed it as well!

I think that's enough word vomit from me! Sorry I haven't responded to everyone's previous posts.
I'll try to stay involved on here a little more 😊

@ELW85 Finn looking in that mirror 😂😍 Little cutie.

@Fivebyfive2 Haha you mean toast thief of a mother! Chilling watching don't tell the bride sounds fabulous. I wish Daisy would watch TV! Before she was born I was like 'no screen time until 2'. Then she became hard work and I was like 'Oh we will have ten minutes in front of the telly to save my sanity'. But just to mock me for my earlier statement she won't sit still for 30 seconds in front of the screen. Not even Peppa Pig which I thought was like crack for little ones?! Nope, she wriggles off my lap and immediately tries to start climbing the tv stand and pulling the sky box out. God child, why do you never sit still?! 😩😂 Jealous of your cornetto, sounds like you deserved it after that long stint of Awake time!

@ELW85 How did the viewing go? Sleeping baby and happy mama eating a magnum sounds like a great success, good job getting any kind of nap in this heat!

@MrsEG The boys look so happy in your photos! Bless them. I know what you mean about not going back in. I mean Daisy slept through the smoke alarm the other day, zonks out in the car however loud the radio is but you touch ONE TOE onto her carpet whilst she's settling to sleep and she hears it and springs upright like a jack in the box. Once upon a time I'd watch the monitor non stop checking her breathing and now it's like 'meh, no noise so she must be fine'

@LokiCat Lovely to hear from you :) It's hard to keep up when a mum's jobs are pretty endless! And peace and quiet time is as important as anything :) 8kg, blimey! The little pudding ☺️ You obviously produce some top notch full cream milk! She sounds like she's getting on really well.

Why can I still not tag names without making the whole text bold?! What am I doing wrong?! 😳

Morning all!

What a fucking car crash last night was! DH was stuck at work til 11 and the viewing wasn’t worth it. 15 mins in and out. Just a couple of polite questions like “what white goods will you leave” clearly not interested.

Anyway, I decided to roll the dice last night as
It was just me and the boy, so bath, bottle, bed...I’d usually hold his hands to calm him down as he flails a lot when going to sleep (as you know).
Thought nah, I can’t hold his hands for the rest of his life so just leave him and let the cards fall as they may...
Took him a while to drift off (about 40 mins) but he eventually went to sleep on his own with just his blankie.
He had a few wakings but I just left him to settle himself. Didn’t wake up for a feed until 4.30!!!
So he did nearly 10 hours!! Amazing.
This morning, first nap, crying a bit (got him down a bit late), put him in his crib, threw the blankie over him (mother of the year award, obviously)...out like a light.
Don’t worry, it’s a cellular blankie so totally breathable and I always move it back off his face when he’s asleep. Photo of the current scenes!

And then you wake up to the worst recession since the Great Depression. Awful!!

@MrsEG - I’m hoping against hope that the viewing was deceptively bad meaning it’s somehow going to precipitate an offer. I don’t follow my logic either, but stranger things have happened!
The sensory class looks amazing! I was playing with Finn’s sensory box the other day and he’s obsessed with the foam light stick so clearly is going to rave for days when he can 😂

@TrashKitten10 - I didn’t get tea last night so the Magnum saw me through, haha! Did you go for a McFlurry?
I’m with you on the screen time but DH will NOT let Finn look at a second of it. I don’t think it’s that bad, it’s not like they’re in front of it 24/7!!
I think Finn’s a weirdo in that photo! It’ll haunt him on his 18th 😂

@LokiCat - lovely to hear from you!! Yes Finn is exactly the same with squeals and being a general fidget, including being super distracted when eating. It’s all developmental though 😂

@ELW85, go Finn, self settling and going 10 hours!! You never know, the people who viewed may just be keeping their cards close?! My fil buys up property to sell on and he always makes a point of never showing any enthusiasm at all when viewing, he says it gives him the upper hand?? I don't really get it, but he's a bit strange at the best of times 😂 Omg these dads and their ideas about screens... Dh turns telly off immediately after Joe comes downstairs. I'm like 'yes husband, I never let him watch it when I'm home alone with him all day... Honest' 😂

Well, last night was hell. Joe didn't settle properly until 11.15...it was 32 degrees upstairs. There was lots of crying (from Joe and dh!) and lots of sweating. Thank god he at least slept until 4.15, fed and was asleep 4.30 till 6.15. I took him back up at 7.30 when he was rubbing his eyes and he's still asleep now. Just leaving him to it, he needs to catch up!!

Tonight is set to be the same. Dh is on evenings tomorrow, so we've been a bit silly... I had a £90 tax rebate and we've spent it on an air conditioned apartment in Birmingham with a cot for tonight!! I thought after dhs mini breakdown last night we could use a treat! We're gonna go when he gets back at 5, once Joe is fed and then get a takeaway in the room. Hopefully Joe will be more comfortable if it's cooler and we can come back late tomorrow morning. F it 😂

@Fivebyfive2 - I celebrated too soon. Second nap was fought like a trooper so I missed my virtual weaning class 😢
Brought him up yawning; fed, bed, nowt. Refusing to sleep. Got down at the 2h wake mark and when I put him in the Snuzpod he looked like I’d betrayed him! Oh well, try again next time!!

I’m so sorry you had an awful night. Air conditioning sounds like a great way to spend the rebate.
Is DH ok? They both sound traumatised!

I hope your right about the viewer; no email feedback yet so fingers crossed they ring with an offer!!

@ELW85 I hope you enjoyed your Magnum! Finn's definitely not a weirdo! He's too cute 😊 how wonderful that he had such a good night! I'm sorry that you feel the viewing may have been a waste of time. I honestly don't know how your house hasn't been snapped up yet! Ooh, Finn's playing hard today, huh? I hope he's sorted himself out!

@Fivebyfive2 it was so weird as the day before he was trying but there was just nothing! 😂 he's been practising in secret... it is way too hot! I'm melting, Ethan's melting, the dog's melting! At least I'm not at work - they're not allowed the air con on! Oh, that's awful about last night. I'm thrilled you've got an apartment with air con for tonight though 😂 great choice!

@MrsEG oh god it's just crazy! He goes after absolutely everything! He's got so many toys but they're not interesting haha 😂 the boys look like they had a wonderful time at their sensory class!

@LokiCat it's wonderful to hear from you! Ethan still has FOMO at 8 months old - woe betide we go out anywhere!

@TrashKitten10 I have that issue with the bold text! I think it's a glitch 😂 haha! You make me giggle - "touch ONE TOE onto her carpet" 🤣🤣

@MrsR16 - thank you! I’ve no idea why it’s not gone either to be fair. Still no feedback on email so fingers crossed they’re calling with an offer soon!
Finn’s not been too bad thanks!

Not sure if anyone else shops on Blade and Rose but I went on just now and they asked if Finn would prefer llama or pirate leggings, so I clicked pirate thinking it was market research and they’re sending them for free!
Get on and have a look 😊

@LokiCat Hello lovely! Wow she is a fantastic weight isn’t she, well done you!! Oh I think we’ve all been indulging during lockdown, I can’t tell you how many brownies I’ve had delivered to the house. Oh please do go to the group! I had Cranky Conor with me and another baby to deal with but I was still so glad I went and we enjoyed it!!

@TrashKitten10 I am exactly the same with not going in - I rationalise that monitors didn’t even have screens until a few years ago! If they’re quiet, as far as I’m concerned, they’re absolutely fine!!

@ELW85 Ah what a fabulous night sleep Finn had!! But rubbish you missed your workshop today, will they send all the content over to you anyway? I am no expert at all I’m only 2 weeks in haha but amongst us in the group I’m sure we can attack any Qs too if you have them!

@Fivebyfive2 Oh poor Joe! Your plan for tonight sounds fantastic I’d say, air conditioning! The dream!! Enjoy it - room service and cool air literally sounds like heaven!!

Just reading the chat through - ladies, HOW are you surviving without screen time?! These boys have SO much! If I couldn’t plonk them in front of the TV I’d never eat my breakfast. Some strong recommendations - Hey Bear Sensory on YouTube (you’ll be taken back to 4am in Ibiza but babies are mesmerised), Little Baby Bum (massive ear worms - be prepared) and my personal fave, Hey Duggee. I rationalise it all in my mind - they’re getting a bit of sensory, LBB is all educational nursery rhymes so they’re learning (LOL), and songs help with their communication development, etc etc. But really it’s 15 min breaks for me throughout the day to actually drink tea warm!!

@MrsR16 missed your post! So is he just crawling all over the place now?! Ruairí can crawl backwards which he finds so frustrating!! I’m not encouraging it too much, but I find just leaving him to it on the playmat is how he’s learning anyway - but I’m so not ready for these two to be mobile yet haha!

@TrashKitten10 I've noticed if I tag the same person twice on a post it does the weird bold thing 🤷🏽‍♀️
I love how wild Daisy is 😂 although I have a feeling Alayna is going to be the same, judging by her personality now, so I'm sure I won't have the same thoughts then! She'll definitely be keeping me on my toes!

@ELW85 go Finn! What a great night sleep!! Sorry the nap didn't go as well and you missed your class, though. How exciting to start thinking about weaning though! When will you be starting?

@Fivebyfive2 oh no, sorry about last night! I think your plan for tonight is great! I didn't want to get out of the car earlier because the air conditioning was so nice. Would have happily slept there.

@MrsR16 ah I was really hoping it might calm down as she gets older. Just gonna have to deal with I guess, I can't stay inside forever 😂
I can't believe your work aren't allowing the air con to be on!

@MrsEG DH and I braved a lunch today and Alayna was pretty good for most of it so it's given me the courage to go to the class! I'm really looking forward to it now!
Thanks for the tv recommendations! I can already see Alayna watching with interest when we have something on, so I'll definitely be using screen time to entertain her when I need a break!

So, Alayna was up every 2 hours last night, which was not fun 😴 She did a 6 hour stretch the night before so was really hoping for the same but I think it was just ridiculously hot and sticky last night! Fingers crossed tonight goes better.
We finally got her registered today! She officially exists 😂 DH and I went out for some Thai food with Alayna for the first time and she did really well; squealing away and giving cheeky smiles to the waitress and table next to us 😂 She started to get cranky half way through the mains so we just got it packed, but I'm happy with it for a first time experience. It's definitely made me a lot more comfortable to go out again with her and take advantage of the Eat Out scheme.

The weathers taken quite a turn here! It was really sunny walking back to the car and then on the drive home the winds picked up and it started raining really hard. Saw a tree on the road as well!

Hope you're all having a lovely day 😊

Morning all

These naps are still ridiculously hard to get! Hoping it turns a corner at some point.
The viewer from 2 nights ago fed back to say hrs already bought something else. Why disturb us then? Couldn’t have changed that quickly!!
I’m furious and sick of time wasters.

@Fivebyfive2 - I hope you had a nice chilled night?

@MrsEG - 4am in Ibiza sensory sounds great 😂 is not heard it’s it before but I want to chuck it on now!

@LokiCat -good on you fit going for lunch! I’m meeting a friend tomorrow for lunch and I’m terrified given how difficult Finn has been to get down lately but I need to live life at some point!

@MrsEG, we love Hey Duggie here, it's the only time Joe is still enough for me to cut his nails 😂 We have baby bump nursery on Spotify but haven't watched the videos yet. We tried the bear sensory videos, but he didn't seem to like them?! One made him cry and another appeared to relax him so much he did a massive poo 😕 I put Kipper on for him the other day and he seemed happy?! Have you tried Tinga Tales on cbeebies?? Joe likes that sometimes, it's all really bright colourful animals! Xx

@ELW85, definitely go out, Finn will be OK and you'll probably feel better for doing it 🙂 Aaagh to time wasting, why do people bother?!

We had a good night overall! A few mishaps... A parking error so we had to pay twice (only £3 a time luckily) and our takeaway didn't arrive 🙁 Thankfully we got a refund and I'd brought lots of snacks so we didn't starve. We immediately realised Joe wasn't going to be able to sleep in the travel cot provided, so had to do some swapping around. Most importantly though.... We all had a good night sleep!! Joe slept 7.30 till 5.45 with 2 short feeds (midnight and 2.30) He slept in the bedroom for the first half of the night while dh and me watched telly and slept on the big sofa bed, then at midnight we did a swap and dh had the bedroom and me and Joe were in the sofa bed (full size so was very safe) Also, Joe decided to pick last night to discover he likes to sleep on his side! He's just having a little morning sleep now while we shower and pack up... We even dtd this morning 🥳 Off to find a cafe for a full English soon!

Hope everyone is OK this morning? Xx

@Fivebyfive2 - sounds like a very successful night and morning all round 😂
Pleased you had a good time!

@MrsEG - that is NOT the Ibiza I was hoping for, haha!

Well because our Chinese didn't arrive last night, we treated ourselves to breakfast at Bills instead! I had scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, dh had the big breakfast and then we shared a fruity pancake stack 😋 Stuffed now!

Joe tried scrambled egg (confused!) squished strawberry (messy!) and pancake (loved it!) On the way home now, Joe is in a carb coma 🙂

Fell behind again 😅

@Fivebyfive2 your little getaway sounds fab though I'd be fuming about the Chinese (I love food so much 😂). Sounds like Joe enjoyed his decadent breakfast!

@MrsEG I was so anti screens....buuuuut yeah, sometimes you just need a break don't you?! Dancing fruit has saved us many a car meltdown.

@ELW85 grrrr time wasters!!! You wonder why the bother?! How did lunch with your friend go? I find M is often better out and about tbh 😂 think she gets bored of my face!

All ok here. M up once a night at most atm. Fine but takes soooo long to resettle. This heat can do one too!! In cheerier news, she's a big fan only peanut butter. Welcome to the club m8!

@LokiCat Ah I’m so glad you got our for lunch! We’ve only done that a handful of times with the boys, it’s never been as bad as I’ve thought though once we’re out! I find taking an enormous stash of toys usually helps!!

@ELW85 Ugh why even view it then?! I’m angry on your behalf!! Haha - the dancing rainbows are a particular fave in this house, it transports me back to a very different time haha!

@Fivebyfive2 Ooh I’ll have to try Tinga Tales! Ahh I’d be raging about the Chinese!! Bills sounds fab though and Joe definitely looks like he’s enjoyed it!!

@purplefig Oh god, absolutely! God bless those dancing fruits. I always remember reading this when I was stressing about it a bit in the early months and it made me feel much better! Essentially boils down to my overall parenting motto these days of just do whatever works best for you and your family! www.mother.ly/Our-Partners/is-screen-time-bad-for-kids-new-report
Fab M is sleeping so well but not good about the long resettling!! Does she get upset, or is she just taking a long time to fall back to sleep?

Is it still as hot as the sun where you are?! We finally had a midnight storm in Manchester and it has done NOTHING, it’s 30 degrees outside. I’m having to get a quick walk in at like 9am if I want to leave the house and then we’re stuck inside! I did try filling the paddling pool but the water just got so warm in it!! Me and DH have said if this starts to become the norm we’re investing in air con next year! The boys seem happy enough though, still crawling backwards and obsessed with doing so, can’t take my eyes off them. We’re just doing a LOT of sensory play inside and friggin praying for a drop in temps!!