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

980 replies

PurplePansy05 · 04/11/2021 17:52

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

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PurplePansy05 · 03/12/2021 23:06

@RandomCatGenerator I can't feel my scar at all. Is it the scar that hurts or the area around it?

@WolfMother326 I could pretend that I'm super healthy and prepped but I'm not...some days I eat whatever is in the cupboard and quick! But if Leo is fine and naps I would usually have main meals not snacks - eg a mashed banana on wholemeal bread with a bit of honey or peanut butter, or porridge with blueberries. Then a filling salad or a wrap for lunch, I'd probably add feta or avocado to it. And then some sort of a stew/casserole/pasta with lots of veg for dinner. If I eat like this, I snack very little, probably a pack of Belvita biscuits a day after a walk/exercise. I don't have much time for prepping healthy snacks. Does anyone do it? What do you make if so?

On that note, I cannot imagine being one of those insta-mums cooking pretty looking meals and snacks five times a day from scratch for weaning...I'd have to be up at 4am to do this! 😂

Also, I sometimes jog lightly with Leo in the pram, we have an insert that keeps him stable and he's also strapped in. I personally don't see a problem then if it's on a non-bumpy pavement. xx

OP posts:
Ready2020 · 04/12/2021 05:55

DD has been pooping at night recently. It coincides with the dribble poops but its really starting to be annoying as she wakes so much during changing.

That's twice tonight she's pooped. Is this normal, to go back to this kind of behaviour?

Smurf123 · 04/12/2021 21:21

@BertieBotts do you know when the wedge should be removed from the joie 360? Dd has been in her infant seat and will be normally but we are bringing one of our joie 360s abroad with us to leave with the in-laws for when we visit. Problem being that the only way to do the 2 hour drive to the airport from our house is to have both kids in the 360 seats and the infant seat will sit in the footwell to we get there (no other space)
Tried her in it today with the wedge and the infant insert but she doesn't look right. Looks too high up and squished. Taking the wedge out seems to make her look more comfortable in it but I'm not sure if I'm reading the guide right whether it shouldn't be removed until 6months? Or I'm putting them in wrong all together which is why she isn't sitting right. She is on 75rh centile for length but only 9-25th for weight and is only just moved into 3-6months clothes (depending on the brand some are still too big)
Ds was closer to a year when we got the joie for him so he never used the inserts.
🙈

Smurf123 · 04/12/2021 21:31

@PurplePansy05 I'm impressed by both your running and your lunches. I feel like I have no time for anything atm and if I'm not seeing my mum my "lunches" tend to be a bar of chocolate or a slice of toast if im lucky. Between school runs and cluster feeds there isn't much time for actually making anything.. and dd hates the baby carrier too so don't have free hands most of the time 🙈

sarah13xx · 05/12/2021 01:05

Sorry haven’t had a second to come on here this week, just catching up…

Does anyone else feels like you now do endless cleaning/tidying up/washing and yet the house never looks great and there is always a pile of washing still to do? I'm so fed up, I feel defeated all the time 🙄

YES! And I prioritise getting his clothes washed before ours so the longer time goes on the less and less clothes we have that are clean but there physically isn’t time for me to be able to run up and downstairs putting it all in and having somewhere to dry it all while abandoning him with the dog so it just doesn’t get done 🙈 Our house was like show home condition a matter of weeks ago for our viewers when we were selling it and I feel like it was SO clean that I’ve actually got away with doing less for a while because it’s still looked not too bad. It’s only now the cleaning/washing/dishwasher/bottle situation is really becoming out of hand 😂 On top of all this I’m trying to fit in my little Etsy shop too and every time I get an order I’m now stressing in case I don’t get it done but im just staying up late every night doing them all, going to need to get into a better routine with everything but im telling myself I’ll sort my entire life out when we move 😂

@WolfMother326 I’ve been wanting to get back into running for ages. Had planned to go when he was 3 months but due to DH being out at work during daylight hours, the weather and a million other excuses time went on and I didn’t go until last week. I foolishly presumed that because I’ve taken breaks from running before and just restarted it with no issues whatsoever I could just go straight out at my usual pace for an ‘easy 5k’. I got to the first km and there was a pain under my ribs, similar to a stitch kind of feeling but just a dull constant pain. I’ve never had a pain under there before. I ended up having to walk for a minute because the whole thing was just so hard 🙈 I was really really struggling! C-section wise I think it felt okay but I wasn’t exactly sprinting. Just glad I can run without any pelvic floor issues that I presumed would be a given when you’ve had a baby. I planned to try and go out 3 times a week to get it going again and do RWL workouts in the house. I woke up the morning after that run, could barely walk so gave myself the rest of the week off 😂 Still haven’t been again but it’s mainly due to the babysitter issue. My mum now has covid so that means I’ll not be going this week either. We’re getting a running pram for Christmas and it actually says 9 months to run with that one but 6 for walking. I’m really hoping by 6 months I could do gentle 5ks on flat ground with him in it. I can’t wait to have the freedom to be able to just go whenever without having to text asking when someone has an available slot to watch him the next day, only for the notion to have worn off by the time it comes about 🤦🏼‍♀️ I’m supposed to have a half marathon in March so I really need to try and get my fitness back up

PurplePansy05 · 05/12/2021 09:22

@Smurf123 I wish most days were good with healthy lunches and jogging, but it's not the case at all. I might manage twice a week if I'm completely honest, other times like I said, something from the naughty cupboard or a ham sandwich if I'm lucky! I never thought I'd say that but I miss my homemade salads that I used to have every day in work! Should have appreciated the time I had to make and eat them a lot more! To balance things out, we were out yesterday with friends and I've eater half of the festive pub menu 😂xx

OP posts:
Daffodil21 · 05/12/2021 10:41

DS has now picked up an additional night feed at 130am, and then taking ages to settle at the next feed around 5am. Normally his first feed would be around 5am and he'd go straight back down, but this morning it took 1.5 hours!!!! I'm guessing this is the 4 month sleep regression. I hope it doesn't last long.

(Sorry, I know some of you have worse nights than this Blush)

The additional feed also means the nappy spent last through the night 😞

Smallbean27 · 05/12/2021 12:48

Any experiences of tongue tie?
I'm wondering whether Rohan has it, struggled to breastfeed due to severe nipple pain and poor latch.
Bottle fed now; leaks milk out of his mouth (not every bottle), gulps, trouble burping. .I'm considering looking at a private specialist. As I know NHS won't see us as we are bottle feeding and he is gaining weight.

Fran919 · 05/12/2021 15:35

@Smallbean27 similar position to us, struggled to BF and by the time the MW said oh yes it is impacting latch I was already on my way to FF.

HV doesn’t think the TT is having an issues on the bottle despite it taking an hour or so for a feed however I’ve done my research and to determine any oral restriction an assessment by a TT practitioner needs to be done, HV aren’t qualified for this. I’ve booked (through private insurance) to take DD next week to ENT specialist for it and it will be snipped there and then if they confirm oral restriction so will share my experience afterwards but I think it’s contributing to the reflux.

Have a look at rockabye reflux and Infant.feeding.specialist on IG if you have it and they go into detail about TT and restrictions. Also recommend some bottles / dummies to help with oral function along with some exercises.

WolfMother326 · 05/12/2021 17:07

So yesterday I swam for 30 min and took an hour brisk walk while baby slept in pram and today woke up with a bit of incision pain. However I'm not sure it was the exercise because I also picked up a swinging chair with baby in it to move to another room, and I felt no discomfort while exercising. In any case I'm going to wait a few days to start couch to 5k but have now got my kit mostly sorted out and hoping it will be ok. If I feel great tomorrow maybe I'll begin.

@PurplePansy05 that sounds like a balanced and reasonable way to eat. I agree I can't be bothered preparing tons of fancy things and I never take photos of my food because tbh it's not very pretty! At the moment I'm having porridge for breakfast and a healthy sandwich with wholemeal bread or a salad for lunch. My main issue is snacking. I get so hungry between meals esp breastfeeding. Been having an apple with peanut butter or oat cakes and cottage cheese but would like to find more options.

Wow @sarah13xx I'm impressed by your goal to do a half marathon by March. Sounds like maybe you should start with walking/running intervals? I bet in a couple of weeks you'd build up strength. Can you swim for cross training? Gentle way to start.

Ready2020 · 05/12/2021 19:56

All this talk about exercise and being healthy and I ate 2 donuts today..... I do get hungry though donuts are clearly not the way to go. OH kinda bugs me with his unbelievable look when I say I'm hungry yet again. Feeding is hard work.

I'm going to a new friends house tomorrow for lunch. We randomly met as I was walking into town. Both had prams and babies of similar age, though she has a 3 year old too, and we just got chatting. I can't help but compare though as her address are these huge fancy houses. My lounge will be the size of her bathroom lol!

@Daffodil21 my DD picked up this extra feed a couple of weeks ago. Some nights she's OK until 4am but mostly not. She's been a bit of a terror getting down just now. Crying more than usual and won't drop off as easy. I think I need to think more about naps, not have them too close or far from bedtime. December was always going to be a bad sleep month in my head so we re just getting through it best we can.

RandomCatGenerator · 05/12/2021 20:01

@PurplePansy05 @WolfMother326 thanks for replies on c section discomfort. I think it is probably just a touch of scar tissue inside / nerve damage. I’ve also made the connection I should have made before that this discomfort has begun after I’ve tried doing exercise - LOTS of swimming - so probably just me adjusting too! Silly of me not to make the connection.

RandomCatGenerator · 05/12/2021 20:02

Also @PurplePansy05 your lunches sound amazing and delicious and organised, you healthy and impressive person you!

Daffodil21 · 05/12/2021 20:42

@Ready2020 you're literally feeding another human! Of course you're going to hungry regularly! I'm not BF but my friend who was said she just lived off sugary foods while feeding. Don't be so hard on yourself and your OH can quite frankly keep his opinions to himself as he has no idea.

Has the extra feed become a regular thing? I was hoping to take @Inmypjsagain advice on weaning him off the one night feed he did have, and now he's gone and added another in! Not impressed but it's the extra long second feed that I don't like. I think I'm just going to go with it tonight and put a film on until he goes to sleep rather than just desperately trying to go back to bed.

@Inmypjsagain did you manage to drop that feed?

Daffodil21 · 05/12/2021 21:42

DD's cheeks look really swollen tonight. Is this normal for teething? I don't know for sure he is teething but his cheeks are red and he's drooling a lot more lately. Also is more unsettled lately but is the swollen cheeks thing normal!

Daffodil21 · 05/12/2021 21:43

Meant to be a '?' not a '!'

sarah13xx · 06/12/2021 00:14

@WolfMother326 it was a half marathon I was supposed to do in 2020 in preparation for my marathon then it’s been postponed twice. I got a half marathon plan sorted tonight so I’ll need to start it on 9th January which means I have a month to build up to running 5 miles again (which is the easy run on this plan) 🙈 Really hoping by the time I start it I can take him on the slower runs with me as long as I’m not going over bumps or flying round corners. I’d imagine they say 9 months to be cautious in case you really go for it with them in the buggy when they’re too young. I absolutely hate swimming usually but we’ve started taking him every week or two so I could fit in a swim while DH keeps him in the baby pool for a bit at least

@Daffodil21 red cheeks here or sometimes just one even 🤔 Also I hate saying this on here because I know some people are still having hard nights but since 6/7 weeks I’ve not been up during the night even once.. then randomly two nights ago we stayed downstairs watching tv til late, I think he woke up from hearing us coming in to bed and it was like he just became fully awake then realised how absolutely starving he was and just couldn’t get back to sleep. He even started crying so I ended up giving him a bottle at 2.30 after 10 weeks without one 🙈 Obviously theres going to be nights like this sometimes but my HV (as hopeless as she may be) did say at 16 weeks he’d get really really hungry. During the day he cannot get enough milk. He’s not bad in the morning and follow some sort of routine but in the afternoon/early evening he’ll be having a bottle every hour sometimes, it’s like he knows he needs to fit as much in as possible like a wee squirrel before he goes for his long sleep 😂

Smurf123 · 06/12/2021 03:48

@Daffodil21 we went from mostly nine occasionally one night feed to about 4 🙈 at first she had the cold so that was understandable then she slept through again for 2 nights then the past week she's been feeding every 2/3 hours all day and night! Tonight has been a bit better she went down about 10, woke about 1 but I gave a dummy and held her hands and she went back to sleep until about 330. Tried dummy again out of tiredness and u would have thought it was poisonous from her reaction 😂 so she's been feeding since then.
Also red cheeks, drooling lots, chomping hands constantly so I reckon teething here too.
My wonder weeks app says 14! More days of leap 4 fussy phase - I don't hold much faith in it but it seems about right this time

babyturtle19 · 06/12/2021 03:57

Hi everyone!
I'm quite new to Mumsnet so hope you don't mind me joining you! My little girl was born in August, I was reading through the thread and it's so nice to hear from others at the same baby stage as us! I'm up for a feed right now, hello to anyone else who is too! Smile

PurplePansy05 · 06/12/2021 08:59

@RandomCatGenerator You've described a person I'd love to be, unfortunately I'm miles off that IRL and very anxious about it.

Regarding snacks like I said, not enough time to prep anything healthy. Tbh @WolfMother326 it sounds like your snacks are already very healthy. When I had time I used to have pears with greek yoghurt and a little bit of honey and that's a delicious snack. Could have it for breakfast with bran flakes too. Or, if you have time, make a batch of baked oats and eat as and when you need to?

I agree that bf induces the need for sugary foods, biscuits tin is raided a lot in this house. So I have few days of being good and few days that are bad, carbs, biscuits, the lot. It definitely depends on how the baby sleeps and I've moaned enough about him being a poor napper, right...

The weather here has just turned awful and it's here to stay so might try something else than C25K, maybe Joe Wicks or other PTs on YT.

Welcome @babyturtle19, how are you and your LO doing? xx

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 06/12/2021 09:58

Welcome babyturtle :) I probably was up at that time but we have perfected the art of rolling over, offering a boob and going back to sleep :o

DH reckons we have teething, there is certainly a lot of chomping (we have a Sophie giraffe too, but the deer one. He likes the ears and tail nub!) but I'm not convinced it's not just a baby's instinct to explore things with their mouth. They can't really feel things or manipulate things with their hands in the way we can but their mouths and tongues are very sensitive so they tend to bring things to their mouth to explore it that way. If he holds the neck or a leg he can get deer to his mouth about half the time.

Are any of the other babies starting to watch you eat? I find this such a funny phase as they look so baffled and confused "Are you a magician?! How are you making that disappear?"

DS2 used to get really red cheeks with teething and they would be hot to touch.

Smallbean does sound like tongue tie. A friend had this and her baby couldn't even latch on to a bottle. She had to go private because when she asked for help with BF they said just express and bottle feed. When she asked how to bottle feed the baby who couldn't latch she was told to breastfeed!!

My house is a TOTAL disaster, sadly I cannot blame kids, it's mostly me 🙈🙈🙈

BertieBotts · 06/12/2021 10:09

@Smurf123 Joie 360 inserts - these are a bit trickier than most seats so don't worry! I'd put both the body and wedge insert in for a 4mo just as a guess without seeing. I will link to a video in a bit but this is what I tend to go by:

Head insert - use to support tiny wobbly newborn head, remove somewhere between 3-6 months. Note that if you need to move the headrest up you can move the head insert up, as it has 2 poppers on it which set it at different heights. Take out when it's squishing the head or getting in the way.

Body insert - second one to go, you keep this in to fill up space at the sides between the child's body and the side of the seat. This is actually hugely variable as if they are really skinny you might use it until they are about 2. Most children need it in until a minimum of 8-9 months. If their arms are awkwardly pushed up by it try without.

Wedge - really trips a lot of people up, but intends to replicate the extra recline from an infant carrier, so you really want it in until around a year old. Minimum requirements to remove:
Baby at least 9kg
At least 6 months old
Sitting unaided
No longer using the body insert

If you take it out and his head flops forwards while sleeping, put it back in.

Don't forget also you can move the headrest up. The pads on the straps can be tricky as they are bulky. Try to aim for a position where the straps are level with the child's shoulders. If the pads are all bunched up in the inserts, I find it helps to take them off and move them very slightly down so you have a tiny bit of bare strap at the top to work with. But they should start on top of the shoulders and curve down. If they are going up and over and down the back, move the headrest up.

Sometimes they are kind of sitting on the buckle and that causes people to want to take the wedge out. It's annoying, but don't. It's a bit of a flaw in the design. Try putting the headrest up one notch and placing him higher in the seat.

Also obviously you wouldn't put him forward facing yet, but if/when you do move to forward facing, no inserts are to be used, so you need to wait until they are no longer needed :)

I used ours without inserts for DS2 who was 8 months when he went in it, but looking back he was too small and needed both the wedge and insert.

(Photo 1: 8.5 months, needed both insert + wedge, headrest slightly too high. Photo 2: Around 20 months, looks right here without either.)

And the lovely Margaret.

August 2021 Babies - They Had To Be Gorgeous, Just Look At Us
August 2021 Babies - They Had To Be Gorgeous, Just Look At Us
BertieBotts · 06/12/2021 10:10

Sorry I moved this paragraph and it is confusing now:

Sometimes they are kind of sitting on the buckle

I mean, sometimes the baby is sitting on the buckle.

Smurf123 · 06/12/2021 11:01

Thanks @BertieBotts I'll try and get a photo of her in it. With the wedge in she looks really squished similar to the doll at 15 months old in that video. I took her down to smyths as that's where we had got it and they say they have the fit and installation service and asked them to check her in it - I had the wedge plus insert and head support in and they said to take out the newborn wedge and leave the full insert.

In saying that they also didn't tell me the head support could move up one which is great to know because she could definitely do with that!

She won't really be in it much yet but she does have to use it today on the 2.5 hour motorway drive to the airport as I need to bring one of the joies with us for ds to use and then going to leave it at the in-laws for dd to use next time we are over in the summer when she will be almost a year old. (We have 2 360s currently as my mum had one in her car for ds but he's very nearly too big for it so will need a new seat in the new year and mum won't be minding dd regularly like she does ds so doesn't need one in her car anymore)
but yea the only way I can fit all the seats in the car for the drive to airport is to use the 2 360s for both of them and dd infant seat will be at my feet- it will then also come with us and she can use it over there and on the drive home again.

BertieBotts · 06/12/2021 11:16

Yeah I don't know where they get their training from, because even the official Joie videos say that the wedge stays in much longer.

It's confusing I think because in most other car seats, a wedge piece is literally just for newborn use up to around 3 months yet for this one you are really supposed to use it as long as you'd use an infant carrier so up to 10-15 months.

This is their official video, I don't think it's as clear as Margaret's but it is good too in case you want another look.