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!

I think he might have laughed for the first time today. I was speaking to him when he was sitting in his high chair beside me and he started smiling, I started laughing and he kept smiling but was making laughing noises in between smiles. We then both started hysterically laughing at him laughing and he was so taken aback he nearly cried 🙈 I’m sure it was a laugh though!

@sarah13xx cute! We've had a laugh too! Only one so far though so hopefully he'll repeat it again soon!

Has anyone heard of or used a weighted sleep bag?

Nope, sorry. I just googled, do you mean those that come with a built in pillow as that's what came up? I read pillows should not be used until at least 12 or 18 mo, I can't remember now xx

@PurplePansy05

dreamlandbabyco.com/?platform=grin&link_id=407100&token=t8orGQdZerzzwD6dgtScCMpe5xyF1Wd4&contact_id=528dbf08-05a5-452f-861c-cb531c02706c&attribution_window=30

I think they might be American.

DD didn't do too badly in the cot tonight. Wish I could say the same about me. Awake since 2am. Got a Dr's appointment on Tuesday so I hope they might suggest something for the insomnia!

Never heard of these, I just opened the same link as you were posting it, Ready. I don't know what to make of these personally, it seems a bit of a gimmick to me? Are they available in the UK? xx

@Daffodil21 it must have been then! I was googling it after and some things said they don’t laugh til 3-4 months but I’m certain it was 😂 Could be hard to get him to repeat it now!

@sarah13xx I luckily got it on video and it is 100% a laugh. He also definitely smiled at 4 weeks but everywhere will swear blind it's wind until 6. Thankfully we (well my mum, he was smiling at her, not me!) got a pic which I posted at the time. Definitely not suggesting he's some sort of super child btw - he doesn't do a couple of things he probably should!

Weighted blankets for older children and adults (originally special needs related, now more mainstream) are awesome but I am not sure I'd use one for a baby, sounds like a SIDS risk to me - I'd stick with swaddling if you think they need the pressure. There are arms-out swaddles too.

As well as being potentially risky they are not designed to be washed regularly, so not very practical either (with big ones they are too heavy for a home washing machine and you'll have problems with the filling being waterlogged and/or wearing through the fabric due to the weight). They tend to be hand wash/spot-clean only.

In fact it's my goal to get one for myself once all the children have stopped co-sleeping for good :o

@Daffodil21 yeah I remember that 😊 it does feel good when they do things early though 😂 I kept telling my mum he wouldn’t smile til 6 weeks then I think it was 5 and a half weeks and I was delighted 😂

I can’t wait for the proper baby laughs! we've had one full blown giggle but he was fast asleep at the time which was really weird! I wonder what he was dreaming about! Lots of cooing and gurgling now and we get the full body wiggle with the smiles which is so cute.

@Ready2020 I’m sorry your sleep situation is not ideal. Solidarity. DS has reverted to shorter sleeps at night and has decided day naps are for losers so gets totally overwrought. It’s very difficult. Love to you.

@RandomCatGenerator thanks Got the Dr tomorrow so I think I'll end up on anti Ds tbh. OH is being a dick today as well. Not very understanding!

I have been on anti Ds for a few years. My mum refers to them as magic pills. They have really helped me to just get my emotional spectrum back to normal. Fingers crossed the appointment goes well and you get a good outcome for you xxx

@Ready2020 hope the doctors goes well. And sorry OH isn’t being understanding.

Dh has come down with shingles. Such a nightmare as I’m now certain the kids will get chicken pox. Not such a problem if dd gets it. She’s bound to at some point but concerned about a 3 month old catching it. I was going to start transitioning to formula but I’m definitely not doing that while he’s at risk. I want him to have all the antibodies he can get. Dh is truly miserable with it too poor guy. It looks horrible and painful and he’s really struggling. But also being stupidly stoic and refusing to take any pain meds (what is it with men?!) we had a big argument about it. He doesn’t seem to realise that it’s also for my benefit that he takes them. I’m being selfish but so is he i think.

Is anyone trying or able to put the LO down awake in the day and they go to sleep?
If so how long did it take for them to be able to do it. He is only sleeping well on us and I really want him to be able to nap in his cot.
Any tips would be great!

Good luck for the doctors @Ready2020 💜 I've never been on anti-Ds myself but I know friends who've found them transformative. And what a gorgeous baby you have!! xx

@Smallbean27 no tips from me, as I have the same problem! DS will sleep in the sling and today went to sleep in the pram while we were on a walk, but it's nearly 2 months since he's gone down in his cot/bassinet for a daytime nap 😣

@PurplePansy05 I'd love to hear how the necklace works! I was wondering about getting one, DS has become a grope-y thing while he's eating!!

Thank you all for thoughts on footmuffs - mine is arriving tomorrow! Now just need the weather to get cold enough, still about 14/15 degrees here.

Poor DD didn't get great naps today so fell asleep on the boob downstairs on the sofa as OH was making dinner. So I now need to wait for her to stop feeding before I can eat. I'm so freaking tired that I've lost all care so if she stays asleep she's going in the pram until she wakes up. She's doing OK in the cot so one half night away won't hurt.

My OH is on anti Ds too, has been since his 20s. I've no issues with them especially if they help. I've been on anxiety meds before. I just don't like the idea that they will go into my DD in my milk.

@Smallbean27 I've not managed a cot nap but if I time it right I can get her to sleep in the pram bassinet without leaving the house. I put her bear suit on and dummy and she's asleep before we leave the house so I don't bother going out fur the walk. This will of course not work when she gets too big for it. Not sure what I'll do then.

I mean she's cluster feeding a bit. Feeding, sleeping then waking to feed again. It's hard to break that off! Wish I started feeding her upstairs.

@Ready2020 we had poor naps here today too so at 3pm I took her to our bed to have a lay down feed as that will usually work. She dozed on and off and went down for a deep sleep at 4pm. She's still asleep! Longest sleep she's ever had without a swaddle, very worried this is her 'night' sleep as we only get one good stretch when she first goes down for the night then shes back to waking up ever 90 minutes. True danger nap territory

@dirtyfries I've never tried a nap in bed with her during the day. Do you just feed lying down?

How long is her long sleep? DD was doing up to 7 hours before we moved her into the cot. But that's with a couple of dummy redoings.

I think something that makes me anxious when I'm trying to sleep is listening out for the sounds that means she's about wake up because she's lost her dummy. Maybe I should just wait until she cries for it.

We had a hideous afternoon and eve so far here too! Leo would not nap at all, he was unsettled and then screaming and I finally gave up and DH took him out in the car. God it felt good to be on my own, even though I did some ironing, but how relaxing was that silence!!! Sympathy and love to all of you struggling today, solidarity, girls ❤

@wimbler I don't think you're selfish at all. You need his help and if he can take painkillers to avoid feeling really rough if possible then he should IMO. xx

@Ready2020 we lay on our sides facing each other and I'll latch her onto the side nearest the mattress. She'll usually roll onto her back at some point during the feed. Sometimes she'll fall deeply enough asleep that I can unlatch and roll away slightly, other times I have to stay there like a human dummy 😊
Longest we've had is 7 hours as well but the more common is 5 hours. Usually 8.30ish to 1:30ish

She's just woken up so trying to push bedtime back to nearer 10 tonight

She won't take a dummy at all so I don't have your worry. Instead I lay in bed listening for every grunt wondering if she's waking and I'll have to boob her again!

@biscuitcat sounds like we are in the same boat, he will sleep on a walk in his carry cot too. We tried the pushchair attachment but he was to nosey, so didn't sleep at all.
@Ready2020 carry cot wil be too small soon, Rohan is soo long! Trying to get into the practice of putting him down upstairs. But sometimes I just can't be bothered to have to keep yo-yoing up and down the stairs.

I think I'm too impatient, he is nearly 9 weeks. But need to keep telling myself he just needs to practice like any new skill, but it's so frustrating!