August 2021 Babies - They Had To Be Gorgeous, Just Look At Us

[PurplePansy05]

Welcome to the chattiest post-natal club on MN!

We spent a year together chatting about all things pregnancy and baby...

...we've tried and tested countless baby products...

...exchanged hundreds of tips...

...talked about all the big things in life, all the little things, the good times and the tough times...

...we had a good laugh together 😁...

...and somehow we now have gorgeous 3 month old babies without looking a day older ourselves 😅 (must be that good laugh!)

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 💖

Sorry if I've missed anyone, please join in! xx

We’re not doing presents for DS - he won’t know the difference and we don’t have any older kids. I have got him a ‘my first Christmas’ outfit though which DH thinks I am ridiculous for, but he’s very cute.

This weekend DS has been horribly constipated - and I’ve put my back out so DH has been doing everything and so is very very tired and very very grumpy. I feel really guilty. And DS is so sad and is so pained when it’s coming out :( no idea what’s caused it. Any ideas for helping him? It’s quite solid light coloured poo.

@PurplePansy05 now you say it I've just realised we are also the richest and poorest we have ever been. This is the lowest household income we have ever had by quite a lot but we also have more savings than we have ever had. You will make it work. Are you going back to work full time? Once the baby baby stage is over and there isn't a pram/bouncy/chair/jumparoo (I think you said you have one? And they're massive!) about then maybe you'll have more space? I know there'll be toddler toys and things but I suppose they're the things that can be tidied away unlike chair/jumparoo etc which is just out all the time? I don't know, I may be entirely wrong but anyway, you have my sympathies. We are ok with space because we moved up to north Scotland where the prices are low. I often think back to our smaller house down south and I'm glad we don't have to manage in that with a baby.

Yes to the kind of just having to live a little in case we didn't have a baby - we bought some really nice and expensive sofas because I thought we if we're not going to have a baby I at least want to have nice sofas, and now we just have to cover them up to protect them sonwe don't even see them now. They're not going to last 5 minutes when he can walk etc! Small price to pay though!

When you say you don't have family support, do you mean financial or generally? Is it a location thing or a situation thing? Obviously feel free to keep as vague as you like/ignore this altogether.

You may feel like you don't want to move again now, because you haven't long moved there and your renovations were very stressful and happened while you were pregnant/have a young baby. But after a bit more time you may feel ready to, if that's something that will help you x

The clothes storage has been bonkers over the last couple of years granted. But - I've just got all the 6-9m stuff out and into his drawers. The 9-12m stuff is in the bag for "next up" and I could probably fit 12-18m in that bag too if I'm careful with folding it.

That means I have 18-24m to go. DS2 currently has a mix of 2-3y and 3-4y (and a couple of the bigger 18-24m) stuff in his drawers. In 6 months' time I expect him to be totally in age 3-4 and DS3 to be in 12-18m. So there will only be 1-2 sizes between them and 1-2 sizes of clothes easily fit into a big reusable shopping bag. So I'm only a few months off being able to ditch the big boxes. The big boxes have been stored on top of wardrobes. Inside holiday suitcases is another good place and the coats, bedding, bouncer etc have been stored under the bed.

@Daffodil21 The family thing is a bit of both, definitely location with my mum, otherwise she'd definitely have DS for at least part of the week which would have been wonderful for both and also money-wise. Alas, impossible. The in laws are fairly close to us, but they're useless in general and DH is low contact with them, so in reality they're not in the picture. I have wonderful friends but some live far away and the rest are working too, so there's no emergency back up IYSWIM. This scares me now the reality of having DS has hit me. I think you're right we'll make it work with storage, we'll have to. An extension has always been on the cards but the costs of what we've done so far have increased due to covid and made it impossible now. In reality, we have to stay where we are probably for another 2-3 years before a move is a viable option. I can't face more work here, it's been beyond stressful and I guess I'm still recovering mentally from that nightmare. It's been all systems go this year and things have taken their toll on me. I know I have no right to complain as like I said, a) it's in many ways a position of privilege longer-term that took a long time to work for and b) there are many, many people who deal with far worse worries on their own, take all single parents to begin with. I can't even fathom this now. So I keep telling myself to get over things, it's just that the lion share of making money, looking after DS, looking after the house is on me and it weighs heavy on my mind. I feel like say if he was to get ill and I'm back in work I'm just going to break because I'll be stretched in so many ways, needed everywhere for things to keep ticking along if that makes sense. Yes, I will be back FT, I can't afford not to financially and at my level unfortunately. It's funny how I always believed working my way up will give me lots of comfort, whereas now I think actually, was all of it worth this stress - probably not. I never paused to think about it before. Anyway - thank you for your kind words I need to get a grip. xx

@BertieBotts I don't even know how you have juggled 2 then 3 kids, house and work, clothes storage is probably a minor concern overall! You don't have family around either in Germany, do you? It just blows my mind. Hats off, I'll say this over and over again. xx

@Daffodil21 we have a similar issue with sofas - bought gorgeous new ones and never see them as they're covered in dog blankets 🙄 I've just invested in a velvet throw in a lovely colour which is machine washable so at least the blanket over the sofa will look nice, unlike the raggedy things we have on at the moment!

Re Christmas - we're also just buying things Rowan needs anyway, it seems the most sensible way to do things as he won't mind either way

Oh @PurplePansy05, you have such a lot on your plate - you're doing an amazing job coping, and it's so tough doing it without family around. You totally have a right to complain, and don't feel guilty for it at all xx

Can I ask about poop. DD has been producing lots of small poopy nappies, almost green ish in colour and soaking into the nappy like they are quite liquid. She's happy in herself, not in pain. She's not sleeping great and the drool is crazy. I'm thinking it's something I've eaten going through to her but I've not eaten anything different lately. Any thoughts?

@Ready2020 same here with the nappies - greener as the day goes on and sometimes just greenly bits and liquid soaking. DD is also super dribbly - I think it has something to do with the amount of saliva they're swallowing

@PurplePansy05 we don't have any family up here either. They're all 600 miles away, but that was because we chose to move (not intentionally from them). Of course you have a right to complain! You got dealt a pretty full plate all at once.

@biscuitcat we really should buy some nice throws too - at the moment we've been using all our double duvet covers 🙈 we don't have any double beds anymore so I guess at least they're having some use but it's not ideal!

@Ready2020 teething definitely causes different nappies. We’ve come off the gaviscon too lately and giving more formula and his nappies have definitely changed too.

Went out for a walk with friends today followed by pub lunch. Ds has been super fussy on the boob lately, coming off every 5 seconds and lots of tugging and pulling. Decided to take formula as I couldn’t face trying to feed under 100 layers of clothing and in freezing cold. He took a whole 7oz bottle without a fuss. Think I’m going to slowing move onto formula 100% now as He’s so fussy on the boob during the day that he’s barely eating anything in the day and has started waking loads at night.

@RandomCatGenerator @Ready2020 Aw thank you both. Things have drastically picked up and I feel way better now 😊 someone at the market said they’d order online, which I presumed they were just saying to be nice but they actually did and I’ve had another 7 sales over the weekend. When they started coming in thick and fast I was starting to panic how I was going to be able to get them all done with a baby but I’ve managed to just do them when he’s been in bed at night or wee bits here and there when he’s napping. I’ve matched the amount I’ll be getting in statutory maternity pay already this week. I just hope I can sell on Etsy without having to stop getting smp. Same with the whole registering a business and tax thing, it’s all beyond me. Going to need to pay an accountant if it takes off I think 🙈

I’d be happy if I just ticked by with it until I go back to work then I’ll just go back 2 days and be able to do that the other days to make more money and have more freedom than I would have working 4 days

His nappies were more green and were sticky and quite difficult to wipe for a while there. There’s no thing as tmi on here anymore I don’t think 🙄😂

We went swimming yesterday and I had got him one of those floats where it goes round them and they swim on their front kind of. Because of this some of the water was on the float and he was putting his hands in the water then into his mouth too. Pretty much an hour after getting home he had an almighty dirty nappy. He then had another one last night and another two bad ones today. That’s not like him at all though because it’s usually one per day and that’s it. It was almost the way it was during his first week, with wee granually bits in it. I’m wondering if he’s caught a bug or something from the pool water? It just seems a weird coincidence it’s started the second we’ve left the swimming

@wimbler that's interesting that you have 7oz, how was he afterwards was he very sick? I've always been told to never give a breast fed baby more than 4oz at a time so that's all I've ever given DD when she's had formula. You can give 4oz then burp etc then give more if still hungry etc but I'd never thought to give her more maybe I should increase my bottle sizes🙈

@lucyrp I've never heard that Before dd takes 7oz when she takes a formula bottle now and isn't sick after. Sometimes she comes off herself to burp in the middle but not always I just go by her. If she's wiggly and fussy she needs to burp otherwise she just drinks away. Though I haven't given her a bottle in about 2 weeks now because of this never ending cold she has. She's still on size 0 teats when she does have the girls though. She can now manage size 1 too most of the time but it's better with the 0

@sarah13xx wow that's brilliant!!!!!!! As far as I'm aware, you can earn money and be on SMP as long as you're self employed and not working for someone else. We did look into it to see if I could set up my little thing while on SMP, although I haven't done it yet. Did you post a link to your website upthread? I must have missed it if so!

@lucyrp @Smurf123 I think the 4oz rule only applies to expressed milk as BM becomes more calorific as babies age so they shouldn't need more volume (or so I've been told!).

Just a nappy update (oh the joys 😂) went back to Aldi premium over night for the last two nights and didn't change him - and they lasted the night! May have just been an extra wet night on the pampers but he was absolutely soaked through on those but no outfit change needed after a night on the Aldi 🎉

DS takes 6oz of formula these days @lucyrp and we've never had an issue with him being sick after. 7oz was too much for him but he's ok with 6.

@wimbler I keep thinking to move to formula too because we're having the same issues, he fusses a lot. Don't think it's the boob but rather the overall discomfort with everything else going on, teething, growth spurt etc. He gets distracted, wriggles, bites a bit, the lot. It's not as easy as it was for a period of time once we established bf. He's also bigger and heavier and I don't really know how to adjust him/myself tbh. But then I keep telling myself he's already 4m and I wanted to get to 6m so not that long to go...I don't know. It's hard now.

@Daffodil21 @biscuitcat Thank you girls that's very kind of you. I took a couple of hours off yesterday and went to see my friend. Feeling a bit less stressed today as a result.

@sarah13xx Congratulations on your sales, well done ☺ I hope it keeps going well for you!

@Ready2020 I'm really sorry to hear your sister isn't well. I don't really know what to say, it's incredibly hard for her and for you to watch. I choked up a bit after I read your post about not saying the things you wanted to share. I think if you decide to share what you need with her she'll appreciate it no matter how you do it although it may be hard for her to show it. I can't imagine being in this situation. Sending you lots of love. xx

Has anyone bought anything good in the Black Friday sales for the babies? I’ve been looking at the bugaboo site but everything still expensive!

Our NCT group has been really unlucky with covid, mum wasn’t vaccinated in pregnancy but was after birth (she was breast feeding too) they were exposed to covid, baby has it :( but she doesn’t for the moment. You guys might remember we had another who was hospitalised in last tri and had to have an early c section- our WhatsApp group is them all complaining there wasn’t a better campaign for women to get vaccinated in pregnancy, especially as apparently the dr was a bit stroppy with her that baby won’t have immunity from the jabs. It’s a bit odd as I thought breastfeeding would give baby antibodies? Anyway we all count as contacts so have been taking daily lateral flows, okay so far but husband and I feeling quite snotty today so let’s see. Their baby is just 16 weeks and seems so little to have covid ☹️ Getting a bit worried about this new variant now if I’m honest, currently know 6 people with covid and can’t help but think Itll get worse pre Christmas!

A tumble dryer :o I'm super pleased as I managed to get a top range Siemens one for €450. It's listed on their website for €1500 which just tells you what a load of rubbish those prices are!

If anyone wanted to get a head start on the next car seat and wanted extended rear facing, Britax Max Way Plus, Axkid Move and Axkid Minikid are all a really good price in the sale, but they don't move into these seats until closer to a year old so you'd need to store it until then.

4 months is such a common age for fussiness with BF as well as sleep, it gets better usually around the time you start weaning (which makes people say solids is the answer, but I'm not sure that's really true). I find it awkward for positioning as they are often too big with a pillow etc but not stable enough to move to a more upright sitting in your lap position which can be comfy for older babies.

Yes the 4oz rule is about breastmilk quantities which don't change. I don't know how it works if you are mixed feeding, you could try asking on the Mixed Up group on FB?

@dirtyfries I thought it was down to the fact they get the milk from a bottle quicker than the breast even on a 0 size teat

@PurplePansy05 interesting! She's never been hungry after her 4oz so I guess we'll just stay at that until she changes her mind 😂

@Inmypjsagain MIL rang us on Saturday to let us know she had tested positive on lateral flows and we nearly went to see her Friday night so that was a lucky escape! She's now tested positive on a PCR too. We've avoided grandparents too as she went to see them on the Wednesday so just staying clear to be on the safe side.

@sarah13xx were doing our tree next weekend, we buy a real one so can never do it too early much to OHs happiness 😂

@BertieBotts that is such a good idea! I wonder if we should do the same really, we have a combi and it’s getting a hammering it’s used so often. It often sounds like a spaceship so I’m worried it’ll conk out entirely soon!

@sarah13xx we won’t do our tree this weekend, but the week after. We’ve rented one this year but it’s usually habit to buy a bit later as we get real trees and they flop by Christmas Day otherwise. We’ll probably put some fairy lights up before though as I’m sure baby will enjoy!

@lucyrp that was really close! Hope MiL isn’t too affected by it and makes a speedy recovery! It just seems all over the place atm! Our families have had the booster now and I really want it, just worry our baby isn’t immune enough atm!

Oh and those talking about SMP- it’s payday tomorrow so I got my payslip and I forgot how crap it is! Id been planning to get my husband a particular Christmas present all year, I’ve just bought in on offer and it was over 2 months SMP 😵😵😵 better be worth it. It’s odd when you’re used to your income and suddenly it’s slashed, despite the fact that if anything your outgoings are going up….

Ohh and @sarah13xx that’s so exciting about Santa! We’re going to Hamleys to meet Santa (what a rip off that’s going to be, £40 per person!) as a child I’d go to Harrods but they’re not doing a grotto because of covid so hopefully next year. It’s going to be so hard to go to hamleys and not buy loads, but my in laws have already got a Santa sack full of toys for baby and my mum has gone massively OTT!

Yeah we have only spent about €20 on presents for each other over the last few years. Although this year we both bought things for ourselves, not actually for Christmas...