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

@MrsR16, I know 'horrified' is proper dramatic, but he was, it was so funny! He picked it up, put it by his mouth and then just dropped/threw it down and cried?! I think we'll wait another week before trying finger food again, maybe he's just not ready yet? He was much happier with the spoon, does it himself and has quite a bit. How was Ethan last night?

@MrsH497, I'll have a think of possible careers... Anything you have a leaning towards?

Last night was mixed... 7.15 till midnight sound asleep. 12.15 till 1.45 sound asleep... Then up till 3! Then asleep 3 till 5.15 and he has just conked back out on me about 7ish. So yeah, mixed bag. Not awful, but not great either! Monday again ladies, how are we all feeling? Xx

@Fivebyfive2 oh bless him! Crying at finger foods 😂 yeah, I'd definitely try again maybe next week - some babies are just so ready at 6 months and others just aren't! He's doing well with his purées though so that's good 😊 Ethan did ok last night - DH said he woke up about 5ish, but I didn't hear him 😳 hehe

Morning all,

I officially have a 4 week old! Madness. It's scary how fast it goes.

Weird question but didn't anyone else feel like it took them a long time to process their labour? I also really miss being pregnant. Ive started writing down my birth story to help me process it but it's hard to find time between looking after a baby and keeping the house in some sort of order!

U@MrsEG yes! Filled me with horror when he was belly sleeping. Was checking him every 10 mins. Still check now but not as often! It's just something I think you get used to, and they'll soon be rolling fully back over! I thinm once they're on their tummies they have the strength to move their head so it's not straight down then it's fine for them to sleep like that, it's still so scary though!xx

@Lemonysherbet I miss being pregnant still! I get what you mean with the labour. I look back at mine through rose tinted glasses now. It was that long though and seemed so all over the place I wish I had video or at least notes to try and piece together what happened and why! X

@thumper59 it's so strange isn't it. We build up to it for 9 months and then it's gone. I don't know if I'll ever read back what I've written down but I feel like as each day goes by I forget it a little more.

Don't think it helps that no one can cuddle baby and my sis in law and bro just announced their pregnant and I'm so happy for them but also jealous that they will actually be able to share the joy of their newborn with others in person.

@Lemonysherbet Try to concentrate on all the extra cuddles you'll have had with your baby that SIL won't get. He will be so so secure in knowing who his mum is which I'm sure will have such a positive impact in later years. It is really hard though. Esme has only been held by my mum so far and that was at 14 weeks old. I was told to shield after leaving hospital then lockdown happened when she was a week old.

Guys I'm so excited, I've got an appointment to register Esme's birth on Friday, at 15 weeks and 4 days old! She's going to be an official person! 😂😂

@likethefruit that's such a good point. I'm so guilty of focusing on the negatives so thanks for pointing out the positives 🥰

Yay for registering at last!

Hi ladies! Is the weather as miserable everywhere else as it is in Manchester today?!
We tried the boys in their ball pool today and they hated every second haha. All they want to do is roll around on their foam blanket; so be it!
We booked a mini break in the Lakes today too, for November just before I go back to work. Nice to have something to look forward to!

On the pregnancy front, I don’t miss it one bit, I didn’t really enjoy it. It wasn’t fun being high risk, I was so enormous with the twins and the PGP pain was truly crippling. When I see pregnant women now I feel a bit sorry for them, like bless you, are you okay, do you just need a sit down, are you currently worrying about how many times you felt baby move today... I don’t think I’m far enough post partum to view it through rose tinted glasses yet!!

@LikeTheFruit How exciting! It’s such a wonderful moment! Get something on ice ready to celebrate when you get back home!

@Lemonysherbet I know exactly what you mean - one of my best friends is due Christmas Day and I’m also 98% sure my sister is currently pregnant (she’s refused one too many glasses of wine) and I do feel real pangs of jealousy about how they’ll get to have a ‘normal’ maternity leave, do all the things I wanted to do! But just remember, it doesn’t all end after mat leave, there’s so so much to enjoy, weekend classes/swimming lessons or just lovely days out, etc. Plus we’ve had the weird silver lining of so soooo much uninterrupted one on one time with babies - no one coming round unannounced to tell us ‘you know you should really do this/not do that...’ we’ve been in lockdown since the boys were 6 weeks old so I have some hazy memories from those early weeks and the visitors mostly pissed me off, haha! Craving them now, but often I’ve enjoyed the silence!! We will all still get ‘our’ time and there have been so many positives of all this wonderful time together with our little babies while they’re so young.
I also chatted to my HV about it, from a socialising perspective etc - she said all the baby classes in the first year really are more for mum than baby to get us out of the house. Sure they have fun but not going isn’t detrimental to baby at all. That really helped me!

@thumper59 Ha I’m so glad it’s normal then! I check on him constantly! He seems very content on his belly now though and sleeps pretty soundly, just me who isn’t haha!

@Fivebyfive2 Poor Joe, I’m sure he’ll come around to the finger foods soon! Don’t they say babies need to be offered the same food 10 times before they like it?

@MrsR16 How’s Ethan getting on?

@MrsH497 I know lots of people who changed career on mat leave! Some started their own businesses!

@ELW85 hope all is well with you and Finn!

@Lemonysherbet I miss being pregnant! I occasionally get phantom kicks which is weird! 😂 I shared my birth story on the PBC Facebook page yesterday and it was incredible to relive it (totally outing in case you're on there!) Oh that's lovely that you'll be having a new niece/nephew! I get what you mean though... however, you got plenty of uninterrupted time with Jack! You didn't have everyone and their wife banging on the door demanding baby cuddles the second you got home from hospital. There are good things and bad things about the lockdown! I've loved the time I've had with Ethan and DH definitely has. However, I've also really struggled some days and would have done anything to get my mum or MIL to have him for just an hour so I could breathe. We each have different parenting journeys and I just try and celebrate the wonderful times!

@LikeTheFruit yay for being able to register Esme! It is exciting to think they're finally officially a little person!

@MrsEG today has not been a good day! Ethan's not been having his bottles as normal. He'd essentially missed an entire bottle's worth by 2pm, which I wasn't happy with. However, I got him to sleep just after he'd drained an 8oz bottle and he hasn't woken up just yet! 😂😂 DH is enjoying sleepy cuddles 😍 yay for your mini break being booked!

@mrseg hat's exciting there's a few pregnancies due from close friends/family, I wonder how likely they are to get normal pregnancies and mat leave with covid. I think the thing I found hard was that covid appeared right smack bang at 30 weeks and I just had to deal with how many changes it caused. Whereas they've chosen to try regardless of the current circumstances so are mentally slightly better prepared.

That's a really good point about baby classes. im lucky I already know a few mums with newborns too so I'm very much not on my own and I need to remember that. I actually love the fact you see a pregnant woman and feel sorry for them, that's very sweet ☺️ I don't know how you cope you twins though that really is amazing in itself.

@MrsR16 oh I loved the pbc stories whilst pregnant. I can't read them at the moment as I feel like I'm healing from my birth but once I've processed it I'll unmute the page again. Did you feel positive about your birth right away or has it taken you time to build up to sharing it?

Phantom kicks is so strange I didn't know that could happen! I'm sorry you've had those tough times where you could have done with support and covid stopped it. It's hard at the best of times anyway.

Thanks ladies for the positives from this whole covid situation. It's true about the uninterrupted times, we really have had a magical month just me, jack and DH and I do need to focus on that. 🥰

Morning all

I think the 4 month regression has kicked in as Finn had me up every 1.5 hours last night patting and shushing and did his worst stretch since a newborn.
He’s nearly 15 weeks (adjusted) so it makes sense.

I’ve been having a bit of a freak out (I blame the sleep deprivation) as I’ve gotten him into a little nap routine of rocking/shush etc to sleep as I thought it was better than feeding to sleep and he’s had none of it today and got himself so upset he needed a comfort suck.
I’m now terrified that he won’t be able to go to nursery in October.
Sat and had a little cry this morning as I feel like we’ve taken a massive step backwards.

@ELW85 Don't cry lovely. Progress with babies isn't just always an upward movement, it's a wibbly wobbly path where some days will go brilliantly and some days you'll feel like you've gone backwards. Finn needed that comfort feed from you at that moment and you responded to his needs because you're a brilliant mum. That doesn't mean he won't be able to go back to shushing and patting next time. Most nights Daisy is put down with no fuss, self settles to sleep and stays asleep for a solid 11 hours. Night before last for some reason she was up at 2 and very unsettled. I tried the normal patting and shushing which generally settles her. She wouldn't settle so I did everything you're not 'supposed' to do with a baby that sleeps through- middle of the night feed and rocked to sleep. Maybe it was teething pain, maybe she was unusually hungry, I'll never know why she wasn't her usual self but I responded to her needs and soothed her. And last night she self settled to sleep and went a solid 12 hours. The previous night didn't put her back or disrupt her sleep in any way. As much as routines and consistency are great, babies are like us and will have days that they're more hungry, tired, ratty or emotional and need us to be responsive to their needs. Which is exactly what you did :) October is an absolute age away in terms of babies development so don't worry about that. Besides I'm an early years teacher and I've seen how the baby/toddler room workers having an incredible knack of managing to get littlies to sleep. Finn will be fine, stop beating yourself up :)

To anybody with a tummy time hating baby, don't let the health visitor panic you like mine did. Daisy has absolutely amazed me with her development the last week or so and she is now crawling laps of the house and is pulling herself up to stand and starting to cruise. The health visitor at 2/3 months had me believe there was something wrong with her as she just screamed on her tummy and made absolutely no effort to lift her head. Her slow start has definitely not held her back and she crawls around at an astonishing rate of knots now haha. I think she just couldn't be bothered with tummy time until she could get something out of it :)

@ELW85, aaaaand breathe!! You'll be fine, honestly. I've seen so many posts /stories of babies who always feed to sleep at home, but can sleep fine at nursery. The staff will be used to it I bet. Also, October is ages away, you've got plenty of time 🙂

@MrsR16, sorry to hear Ethan isn't having a good few days. Could it be he is going off milk a bit now he's used to having food? I've heard some babies lose interest in milk once they start on solids?? Xx

Joe was up every 2 hours again, but did stay in bed until 7 instead of being wide awake at 5am, so that was nice. Dh is off for 2 weeks now, so we're hoping to spend some time chilling, going to parks and getting Joe used to his big cot a bit more. We're also thinking of trying to get him to take more bottles or a sippy cup, to start the very gradual process of weaning him off the boob, even if it is just for the daytime. Not sure how I feel about it to be honest, but we'll see how it goes.

@ELW85 Ah lovely - the 4 month regression was the hardest part of parenting so far for me. It’s hell, it’s very very hard - have the little cry, do whatever you need to do! It is just a phase, try and remember that, I would repeat to myself ‘this can’t last forever’. The boys naps were utterly buggered most days during it too so don’t worry you’ll get that back on track once they’re through it. Sorry though, I don’t understand the comment about nursery? Why couldn’t he go in October?

@Lemonysherbet yeah that definitely is the hardest part isn’t it - people TTC now know what they’re going in to, we had it dumped on us with no warning! I live in hope this is all gonna be a long distant nightmare very soon!

@MrsR16 Oh Ethan! Is he eating more so not wanting as much milk maybe?? Hope he’s doing better today!

I’d been having a wee panic about the boys nursery this week as the ones near to us are slowly, gradually reopening at a lower capacity and I was so worried we’d lose our spot! But I’m going in to see the one we like on Friday evening. Fingers crossed! If they join this one they’ll be their 10th current set of twins!!!

Massive cross post there haha!

@TrashKitten10 well done daisy! Ruairí still hates it at 5 months, I just don’t let it bother me anymore!! Like you say they get there in their own time don’t they!! Conor is brilliant at it now though and will flip himself back to front and lie like that for ages! They’re just so different. Bet you’re watching Daisy like a hawk now!

@Fivebyfive2 ahh hun! Joe just is not giving you a break is he! I’d say just do what feels best for you - for sure getting them used to bottles/cups is great though for when you need to be away from him! My niece never took one and it made the nursery transition quite hard.

@ELW85 I’ve read the others comments now and get the October thing now! Mate October is ages away, ages and ages. My niece was still EBF when she started nursery and fed to sleep and yet always napped at nursery; they are nap wizards in those places!

@Fivebyfive2 @MrsEG Ahh we all posted at the same time. Morning nap time sit down? 😂

@Fivebyfive2 Little monkey getting you up all night, he better be planning some good Mother's Day presents for the rest of his life  7am is a much more respectable time though! 2 weeks of family time together sounds lovely :) You've done so well EBF this long, hope it will work well weaning Joe onto bottles/cups.

@MrsEG TEN sets of twins in one nursery?! What is in the water in Manchester?! 😱 Hope your visit goes well and you manage to get that all sorted and wrapped up. Do you get a discount with twins? Must cost an absolute fortune for you. That's the right attitude to have with tummy time. Don't know why there's all the pressure about it, don't think anybody ever had tummy time mats/toys/schedules years ago and nobody seems to have suffered from it. Ahh Conor, bless him. Did he sleep on his tummy again? I'm definitely watching like a hawk. So is our poor old cat. As if it wasn't bad enough us bringing home a noisy, smelly THING into her house, the thing now crawls towards her and tries to grab her tail given half the chance 🤦🏻‍♀️

@TrashKitten10 haha yep!! Nap time, so for me phone and Love Island catch up!!
Yeah, my particularly town has the highest incidence of twins without IVF of the whole UK, no one seems to know why! When I had the boys they were the third set on the labour ward that day, there were twins in the room next door to me! It’s crazy. Nursery, you get a slight discount but it really isn’t much so they’re only going in 1.5 days a week. I’d love them to go more for the social and learning aspects but we’d need a small lottery win I think haha!
Haha - I bet she’s just all over the place now! I remember my friend having to move anything from lower shelves and baby proofing every possible corner!! Oh the poor cat!! The boys aren’t too bothered by the dog yet but I feel he’s in for a long few years of ear and tail pulling 🙈

@ELW85 Have a read of this thread it's really encouraging

Napping on me, not self settling - your experiences? www.mumsnet.com/Talk/parenting/3952070-Napping-on-me-not-self-settling-your-experiences

Also, @TrashKitten10 is spot on. Babies are so adaptable and Finn will know you're not there so will find another way to sleep. It's also such a long way away in baby terms.

@TrashKitten10 - thank you, your post made me feel so much better; not just the sleep/comfort stuff but for the tummy time too!
I think Finn is just having a bit of a tired and emotional day (aren’t we all?!) but we’ll get through it.
It’s great that Daisy is starting to cruise! I bet that’s one of the best feelings ever 💝
Finn tried some tummy time before and had a meltdown so I’ve just left it for today.

@MrsEG @Fivebyfive2 - thank you. I know it’s ages away and they change on a daily basis, it just really freaked me out.

@MrsEG - 10 sets of twins?!? They’re obviously experts in it by now 😂
I hope you get your place sorted. We were meant to see our nursery on Friday but they called last minute and said they had a few staff off sick and could we rearrange for the end of July?! I suspect Covid...

@Fivebyfive2 - two weeks off sounds fantastic! It’ll be lovely to have some quality time together.
I can understand how you feel about the weaning but you’ve done so, so well. He’ll let you know what’s right for you all 💙

@LikeTheFruit - we finally got to register Finn yesterday but as we’re married DH had to go alone with Covid restrictions. Turns out we’re the only ones who followed it and everyone was there as a couple with their babies. I was devastated. I really wanted to go.

@MrsR16 - I hope you’re ok, I know you’re having a bumpy time with Ethan. I still can’t wait for them to get older, as awful as that sounds. There are days I really, really hate the baby-survival and guess work.

Well wish me luck, ladies. I’m preparing to take Finn on a socially distanced walk with a 9 month old. The day we’re having, it’s only going to go one way!

@Lemonysherbet I was very lucky in that I felt positive about my birth straight away! If you go back on there and ever read it, then you'll see why. I know I'm one of the few women who have a very straightforward birth with no complications or any adverse effects and I'll forever be grateful for that!

@ELW85 oh hun! Finn will be fine - the 4 month sleep regression does pass, I promise you! He'll do wonderfully well at nursery 😊

@TrashKitten10 oh how amazing that Daisy's crawling like a trooper now 😂 bless her! I bet you can't keep up!

@Fivebyfive2 @MrsEG @ELW85 I think I've figured what was up with Ethan... he's cut his first tooth!! 😂 I noticed a glint of white this morning so tried to get a closer look and feel and sure enough, it's a tooth just popping out of his gum 😍 it's so sweet!! I'm going to try and get a picture later (how weird, but it's one of those things that have to be done!!) now to try and get him to not eat his toothbrush... 😂 thanks for looking out for me ladies! Xxx

@LikeTheFruit - thanks for posting that link; I’ve just had a read and it’s made me feel a bit better!

@MrsR16 - first teeth are definitely photo worthy! Calpol required, bless him.

@ELW85 He will be absolutely fine and so will you! The sleep regressions are just horrible blips haha, in a few weeks it’s over and forgotten about. Two words - wine and chocolate!
Do not worry one bit about nursery either, they are used to seeing so many different babies and children day in day out. When my niece started she was EBF and would only nap in her pram, when pushed. My sister was so nervous and did two weeks of ‘settling days’ but she’s never once had a problem. They can get her sleeping on the floor, in a cot, on a blanket etc. Who knows how they do it, but they do! And she still wouldn’t do it at home. Nursery staff, it’s like grandparents- they’ll act like angels for them and have you looking a liar!!
Yeah I’ve been so twitchy about getting a place! I really hope it like it now, it would be so lovely for them to meet so many other twins too!
Enjoy your walk!! I’m sure he’ll be fine. Conor used to scream bloody murder in the pram - just remember if that happens they’re fine; it’s just their way of saying they’ve had enough - they’ll come to no harm in that walk home before you can get him out!

@MrsR16 Ahhh first tooth! Huge day! Bless him - oh yes you have to get a snap!!

@MrsEG - thank you! I’ve just got visions of the nursery ringing me asking to pick him up because he won’t sleep and he’s having a meltdown!

Just back in from the walk. No tears but he refused to sleep in the pram or the car on the way back. Awake for 2h20, picked him up out of the car seat - instantly asleep. I think if I’d kept driving, he would have gone but I didn’t want to take that chance!!