August 2021 Babies - Running on Caffeine and Baby Smiles

[PurplePansy05]

Welcome to the chattiest post-natal club on MN!

We have welcomed 31 gorgeous new babies together 💖💙 ...

We have filled up several more like a hundred threads in the antenatal birth clubs chat...

...and now we have finally graduated and officially moved to the postnatal birth clubs chat! 🥳

Graduates of the August 2021 (and thereabouts) thread:

@Smurf123 & baby Sophia 💖
@wimbler & her baby boy 💙
@Jessicapebbles & baby Ebony💖
@Inmypjsagain & her baby boy 💙
@PurplePansy05 & baby Leo Alexander 💙
@WinterBabyof89 & baby Rosie 💖
@Winecoffeeteamum & baby Emily 💖
@Ready2020 & baby Rowan 💖
@Magik01 & baby Isaac 💙
@Hoares3 & baby Ellis 💙
@Daffodil21 & baby Elliot James 💙
@sarah13xx & baby Freddie 💙
@MrsB2019x & baby Ella💖
@biscuitcat & baby Rowan 💙
@Whatshouldbemyusername & baby Arya-Nyah 💖
@notinthestarsigns & baby Erin 💖
@Aaaaa1519 & baby Anum 💖
@Angelesque & baby Isaac 💙
@Millymay13 & baby Ethan 💙
@WolfMother326 & baby Alasdair 💙
@BertieBotts & baby Alex 💙
@RandomCatGenerator & baby Solomon 💙
@lucyrp & baby Evelyn Rose 💖
@HopefulB & baby Chloé 💖
@Mmr224 & baby Alasdair 💙
@Smallbean27 & her baby boy 💙
@Fran919 & her baby girl 💖
@Caz1226 & baby Dougie 💙
@Ava50x & her baby boy 💙
@dirtyfries & baby Frankie 💖
@ame88 & baby Lily 💖

Tagging @Dia12, @livingwithbees, @Sheisfee, @Alittlexmasmagic and @LottSE20 in the opening post so you know we're here as and when you wish to rejoin/share your updates 💐

Here we go!

Hmm DD has been asleep in the car seat for over 2 hours... have you ever left them for longer than the suggested time? It's the best day time nap she's had in ages

That's a tricky one. I am positive my DS would actually nap in a car seat too which would give me the break I long for. But I think there's a risk of positional asphyxia if they're in the seat for too long, it's something to do with the fact their head & neck control isn't great when they're little and if they slump their movements are restricted which then can lead to suffocation or be a SIDS contributor. But it is that - a risk. You'll see hundreds of babies being fine and one won't be and I don't think anyone knows for certain xx

Yeah I would. Just keep an eye that she's not grunting or her chest going up and down extra fast.

When the seat is on the ground it's not as steep as it is in a car. I def wouldn't plan to do it regularly or put them in the car seat to sleep overnight, and I started to get twitchy when we do long drives as it approaches the 3 hour mark, but I would let them finish a nap if it put them 15/30 mins over or something.

But if you have a bad feeling then wake her up. I did hear suggested that sometimes the reason they sleep better in the car is because their oxygen flow is restricted, which I think is a bit of an extrapolation of the advice into made up nonsense, but I don't know for sure.

She woke up after 2 and a half hours so it was OK. I'm surprised she even stayed asleep in it from the car tbh but she's getting a bit better at napping these days.

Bertie, do you normally take your little ones out of the car seat on a longer journey? As in do you plan where to stop ahead? How old should they be before they can travel in it for longer roughly? xx

Yes definitely. When we drive from Germany to UK it's a whole night and half a day in the car so we all need breaks. We tend to go by time rather than having specific places to stop except for the ferry of course. First stretch drive up to about 3-4 hours depending on whether they are sleeping or awake, just to try and get a good long stretch out of the way on empty roads, as we leave about midnight - 2am. (I didn't push it past 3h when DS2 was 4 months old and even that made me anxious) and after that try and stop every couple of hours, again just playing it by ear. Sometimes we do a longer stop and sometimes it's literally just a loo/leg stretch break, but a tiny baby gets fed up if they haven't fed in a while. The flip side is, they get really really fed up of being in the seat for hours on end eventually, and having too many/too long breaks is always pushing your total journey time so it's balancing this.

Officially there's no end to the 2 hour limit but you can use your common sense. I think once they're in the bigger seats and can move more the danger is less apparent. It's more when they're really tiny and can't move their heads much (partly because age, partly because the seats are restrictive as they prevent the head from moving too much in case of a crash).

Hi ladies, I’ve been a lurker on the thread but wanted to reply to @RandomCatGenerator questions:

I think I had what sounded like an anal fissure, pain and some blood on wiping. I’ve upped my water intake and also applied some nappy rash cream (bepanthen) to heal it a bit and it feels back to normal after about 3 days of doing that. Just wanted to let you know what helped me. Agree with previous comment about needing to go now and I’ve found making sure I go straight away helped as holding it in made pain worse.

We’ve had sex a few times and I wore a crop top each time as was worried about leaks, I’ve never been someone who likes wearing a bra during sex but sex has been quick, quiet, and in the dark since having DS so it hasn’t mattered too much. I didn’t find it painful, just a little uncomfortable first time after birth (kind of like first time ever I guess).

Sorry for long post - I think I’m a bit behind most of you ladies as my DS is only 5 weeks but have found reading your posts so helpful - thank you ☺️

@RandomCatGenerator yip another one on the piles bandwagon here (what a bandwagon to be on 😂😭)!

@PurplePansy05 thanks il need to phone and see if they can change it if it continues this week I think. Thought I had my period when I started it but it completely stopped and I don’t think it was my period so I’m now having to pointlessly take the whole packet for no reason to wait til I can have a break then start again 🙄 started bleeding a tiny bit today but again don’t think it’s my period given I’m still taking it

We’re going to a park this weekend that I booked tickets for and it’s a 45 minute drive. That will be the furthest he’s been in the car seat and I was googling in case that’s too long 🙈😂 He’s probably accidentally been in the car seat longer than that when I’ve gone from one place to another stopping off to grab things without adding up the time

We bought a new house today 😳 We didn’t actually need a new house but we were going to at some point and the ideal one came up so we’ve gone for it a few years earlier than planned 🙈 We have a couple of months until we have to move but I’m now like omg how are we going to manage this with a baby? while trying to do a lot of it up too! But I told myself ‘life’s an adventure’ when deciding whether to buy it or not 😂 I’ll lie on my death bed thinking it was exciting, whether it went well or not 🙈

Hi @Lemongrass9, welcome and congratulations on your new baby!

@sarah13xx Oh wow, how exciting! Congrats! If it's the right house, it's the right house! I'm sure it will be fine, just don't do what I did and take too much on! Pay someone else to pack you up and don't go all guns blazing and do up the whole place at once. I'd forget about DIY personally too unless your DH is really skilled, we still have a fair bit to do and I have no time at all and DH never has it on his agenda which is driving me crazy. I wish we had the money left to just pay someone. It's amazing how the small jobs add up even though the big stuff is finished. Don't overwhelm yourself with a new baby even if he's relatively good, it's a lot to deal with xx

@PurplePansy05 yeah trying to avoid that 🙈 paying someone to get it done fast is so tempting but we’ve already paid way more than we were planning to so going to have to tackle some of it ourselves (well not me personally but people in the family who are skilled in these things 😂)! Yeah I think it might actually be easier now while he can’t walk than trying to move with a 2/3 year old which would have probably been the case if we’d waited. Luckily things like the bedrooms are completely fine and he’ll still be in with us anyway so we can at least have that space for him with no building works going on. The main bedroom is way bigger than ours currently and it would actually fit his big cot in it so even if he’s outgrown the snuzpod or ends up over 6 months while we’re still trying to sort it he can just sleep in that in with us. Itl all be worth it in the end, or so I’m telling myself 😅

Congratulations @sarah13xx exci5 time.

DD just slept until 3am! Usually it's 1am. She did take longer to go down though..I had a great sleep! Poor OH though has to stay downstairs until she woke up. This is one good reason that she needs to go down in the bedroom rather than lounge

Exciting times I mean!

@Ready2020 thanks 😬

Sounds promising!

Well we're on the second train of our monster journey back - so far so good! I even got an earlier connection than planned so hopefully we won't be too late back. They also let me sit in first class and said to make myself comfortable and have what I want! Had a bacon roll and then made the most of DS sleeping in the pram and had a cuppa! Didn't want to risk it on the way down as had to hold him.

Im sure I will pay for this nice easy start with bonus first class travel at some point over the next few hours though!

Up to 2 hours is the advice for car seats past 4 weeks BTW :)

Everyone seems to be feeling better here, which is good.

@Daffodil21 that’s lovely that they have let you sit in first class! I’d be having a slice of cake as well!

Welcome newcomers as well, it’s lovely to see this group is helping so many people whether it’s advice or just general chit chat to stop us going bonkers.

DS2 is being SUPER clingy at the moment. Will not let me put him down, nights have been really broken too. He’s going through a leap according to wonder weeks. Anyone else’s baby like this at the minute?

Congrats on the new house @sarah13xx ! I hope it all goes smoothly for you, I think it will be easier now than if you have a crawling or walking small child. Enjoy it!

Oh that happened to me once!! I was standing in the corridor with baby DS1 in a sling and a conductor gave me a free upgrade :o Was so nice of him.

Is anyone else not able to go to the shops with their baby unless they are asleep? I attempted to go into town with dd for an hour today. I had her in the car seat attachment on the pram, and she wasn’t too bad, but if the pram stopped moving at all she started screaming and didn’t stop until it moved again. This meant I put back everything I picked up and didn’t buy anything as I didn’t want to risk standing in a queue with her screaming non stop. I feel like for my own sanity I need to be getting out and about with her each day but it’s so hard when its not very successful when I do go out. I’m trying to tell myself just attempting it was an achievement! I think I’d pictured myself wandering round the shops etc with the baby on mat leave and hadn’t quite realised it would be easier said than done!

Also, I know they’re all different, but does anyone know if this is something that babies tend to get better with as time goes on?!

I've been to the shop with baby in a sling, pram is a bit risky still. But people don't mind if you're in the queue and they are screaming honestly. They know there's not much you can do about it. Does she settle a bit if you push her back and forth or would it work to hold her on your shoulder with one hand and dump everything into the pram once you've paid (then move to one side to re-site it or bag it)

It kind of depends on the baby - but at least when they're a bit older you can have them on your hip which is a bit of an easier one-handed. Or you can distract them with toys or snacks or talk to them. It gets easier to time things around their happy/cranky times as well once they are in a more predictable routine whereas at this age it's all a bit random.

But there is an upper limit as once they get to a certain (toddler) age where they turn into nightmares in the shop as they are bored...