August 2021 Babies - From Santa to Solids, Hohoho!

[PurplePansy05]

Here we go again!

I'd do another delightful intro, alas I've lost count which thread this is now and we all know our LO's names anyway 😁

So instead I will just say, Merry First Christmas together to you and your LOs! 🎄❤🎁

May the sleep regression pass as soon as they see Santa later this week...

...May they love weaning and may our kitchens survive...

...May 2022 be full of blessings for them and for us ❤❤❤

Oldcomers and newcomers welcome, as always! 🥰

@Fran919 I can't believe this has come up on your insta, what a small world! And she came home from NICU in August! Lovely 💕 xx

DS looooves to sit in the highchair and be nosy, even if he's not being given a banana to moosh :o We have a generic insert for it that I got from amazon because we didn't have a local ikea when Leo was little but I think I might get the proper inflatable one as it looks more supportive. The one we have is fabric and isn't really bulky enough to do much. IIRC it's not very long until they don't need it though.

Smurf it is quite a common age for them to get fed up with the car seat, I think they might be bored? We have started giving one of the Lamaze toys in the car so that he has something to play with and that has helped. The angle might be different on the base vs off but that's about all that would be different I think. Maybe the vibration of the car might feel different? It could be worth experimenting.

Ohh I remember champson, how lovely :) I did hope very much that they were all OK.

Alex is only napping for 30 mins at a time at the moment :( And waking a lot at night. I think teething. I tried a teething powder last night but it just distracted him for 2 mins and then he was upset again. BUT! He did then spend some time gazing at his little soothy light/sound owl toy and then rolled over and went to sleep on his own for the first time ever. He then woke screaming in pain 10 minutes later, but that was a cool milestone :)

@sarah13xx @Fran919 he went to sleep absolutely beautifully last night but then woke at 4:30am for a feed and the straight back down. 4:30 is what he used to be doing but lately has been getting earlier. So I guess it might have sort of helped?

@sarah13xx I'm so glad you're new business is taking off! I'm working on the groundworks to start two, and it's all coming together a bit more now. Still a bit of work to go but I really hope something comes of them. Can you link us to your page again? I tried searching my history but no luck. Where do you think the orders have come from? People searching on Etsy or the markets etc you did?

Oh I am sooo pleased to see little Holly is ok! 💕

@sarah13xx forgot to say - he's on 7oz already in the day! Should I be upping to 8 maybe??!

Thanks for posting that @Fran919. If it is Champson, I’m so glad they’re doing well - what a traumatic start to life but sounds like she’s doing well. 23 weeks is so early - but I know a little boy who is now two who was born around that time and he’s doing just fine, smiley, happy, playful and curious, only his speaking so far seems delayed. He hangs out with Solomon quite a lot as there are few toddlers near us at the moment, and the older boy is really curious and interested in the baby which is really nice. I wish them all the very best.

@BertieBotts thanks for the weaning advice. We’ve been advised to start this month as Solomon is losing weight - he’s dropped from 9th centile to 6th. The doctor isn’t worried, he’s thriving otherwise, but to avoid further weight loss it’s time to supplement his horrible lactose free milk with some solids! We tried banana last werk - you would think the world had ended, he was NOT a fan. Need to have another go but it was pretty disheartening last time so I’m not feeling enthused. I’m not sure he is ready but he needs the weight!

We’ve had some sleep success recently: thank you so much to posters who advised on gradually reducing the early morning feed by an ounce every few days. We did three or four days at each level - so 120ml for three days, then 90ml for the same, etc. I was skeptical as to whether it would work but we are seeing some success! He now tends to go to bed at 18:00 after a big feed, big feed at 23:30, gets a bit restless at 02:00 but doesn’t really wake, then awake for breakfast at 06:00ish. HUGE improvement. The dummy was essential to pacifying him when the 02;00 feeds were small, he was outraged and furious about there not being more foos - but dummy in and off he went almost immediately. So he is ready, it’s just habit to wake up at that time.

Thank you for whoever recommended it - 5hrs sleep at a time is life changing for me and DH!!

Oh - every few nights teething is totally shitting on sleep though, of course. Sophie is a great success although he usually won’t hold her himself. I feel like such a weirdo in public shoving a plastic giraffe into my crying baby’s mouth…🤦‍♀️

Haha, we have the deer version of Sophie and I was just saying to DH today that I had to sit and hold the ass of the deer into his mouth :o

Keep forgetting to post this, but we are absolutely loving this bath toy at the moment. He likes it so much I think I might get an activity cube for out of the bath. www.amazon.de/Gowi-559-40-Badewannen-Wasserm%C3%BChle-Sandk%C3%A4sten-Sandspielzeug/dp/B004ISL30Q/ref=asc_df_B004ISL30Q/?tag=googshopde-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309828959035&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10295488447814519374&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9041878&hvtargid=pla-563957538479&psc=1&th=1&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=62406621820&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=309828959035&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10295488447814519374&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9041878&hvtargid=pla-563957538479

Sorry, I hate it when Amazon does those crazy links

Ooh thanks Bertie! I've been looking for bath toys so that's perfect timing, have bought one for us 😊

Thanks for finding that @Fran919, such lovely news!

@RandomCatGenerator that's amazing sleep! You must feel great for having that longer stretch? I think we seem to be emerging from the sleep regression but still very rare to get more than a 3/4 hour stretch

@sarah13xx that's amazing about your business! I can imagine how chaotic it is, well done for getting so much done

Teething in full force here too, it's making him so grumpy- I hope it passes soon!
He has also started refusing the dummy, which helped him get to sleep! I don't know whether it is making his gums more sore or what. I did see you can get different sizes, didn't know whether to get the 6 month one?

Yes that’s definatly Champsons baby! I know her real name was Candice as she was on the Facebook group as well. Oh I’m so so happy, I was literally thinking of her the other day and wondering what happened and I hoped Holly made it. God I’m crying but I’m so happy. ❤️

@Ready2020 Isaac still flails. I remember having to hold down DS1 arms and he was in his own cot in his room so just have been over 6 months ago.

Does anyone else still have a bump? Almost 5 months on I didn't think it would still be like this... as I've mentioned before I was on steroids that cause weight gain for the first half of the pregnancy, and I'd put on a stone by my 8 week booking app, but this feels a little ridiculous now? The other day I was a bit dehydrated and I did notice it had gone down a bit, so it could be partly fluid retention? Is this normal..?!

Is the Facebook group still going btw? I'm not part of that one

Ah well. I guess we're stuck with the flailing arms for a while then.

Tomorrow we're going to start a bottle feed at about 5pm. DD definitely goes to sleep hungry as she wakes an hour later crying to feed. I offer her boob every hour up to bed time from 4pm but she just doesn't eat enough. It might not make a difference but I'll try anything to reduce the night wakes.

I still have a bit of bump but I had a round soft belly before pregnancy so it might just be me lol.

OH back to work tomorrow. I'll miss having him around.

Shoving in Sophie's ass in his mouth here too, every day 😂 It's his favourite, he prefers the ass over her legs or face, seems more muscly and dense 😳 what am I even talking about 😂

Dummy irritates him sometimes now @Smallbean27. I think it's due to teething. If so, I offer a cold wet cloth to chew on, helps a bit. I haven't found anything that would always work though.

@Daffodil21 I really don't know if asking this question in the first week after Christmas is right...I've eaten my own weight this Christmas and I'm on a serious #shedtheflab mission now 🤣 xx

@Ready2020 I've seen you IRL and you definitely don't have anything to worry about!

@PurplePansy05 this is a good point 😂 I suppose I haven't really put much effort in for a while either. It's not just going to fall off itself..! I'm still at my mum's until Monday so I have been going for baby-free walks and when I'm back home I'm going to go swimming a few times a week and then make sure I go for a long walk every day. And of course cut the snacks... basically put a decent effort in and see if anything changes!

@biscuitcat thanks! It’s so chaotic it’s almost just laughable at this point 😂 Most of the house organising is done though so it’s just a case of moving the big pieces of furniture then try to get into a better routine next week with everything!

I spoke too soon: he was up between 3 and 5 last night and apparently the night before too (DH did that night as I had a minor operation and was recovering). D’oh! It’s still better than it was. We still get 11-3 which is very good! And hopefully we’ll go back soon to the last two glory weeks of 5 hour stretches… sending solidarity and all best wishes to you @biscuitcat we were in the 3/4 hour max for so long and it’s exhausting.

Bath toys: does anyone else’s baby really hate baths? For Solomon it’s like the world is ending. Even as you lower him in, the bottom lip goes and he gets his Puss In Boots eyes like ‘please don’t do this!’ It’s a bit tragic…

Great news on the business @sarah13xx - congrats!

@RandomCatGenerator oh no hope you’re okay! Hopefully it’s a minor blip 🤞🏼 Do you always do it in the big bath or a small baby bath? I found at first he did the quivering lip etc as soon as we went in the bathroom but I think it was from how echoey it was compared to the little bath that we just sit in his room. He’s so big he’s mainly in the big bath now though so he’s got used to it and loves it now. I do think it’s maybe the noise more than anything sometimes though 🤔

Oh bless him!! Alex loves baths but he goes in with DH, maybe something to try?

I've been tracking sleep a bit more recently, we seem to be out of the every 45 min waking and back to our usual ~4 wake ups. But two of those are between 8pm and 11pm so really not too bad at all.

Sarah that's great :) Fantastic! Maybe if you do get too many orders you can get people to join a waiting list or mailing list or something? Or offer an express price where they go to the front of the queue and a normal price where they might have to wait a couple of weeks. (Sorry I don't know how long these things take so adjust if that is wrong!)

LOL @ sophie's muscly ass :o :o :o Sometimes he chews so hard it squeaks. I call it his dog toy.

Defo still have a tummy here.

We have moved to the 6-18 month dummy because the 0-6 one seemed too small for his mouth. He is in size 6-9 month clothes so it made sense to me.

He picked up a piece of banana, crushed it in his hands and then shoved in his mouth! 🏆Champion. He then spat a lot of it out, but swallowed some too. His little faces as he was chewing on it, I had to try so hard not to laugh at him 😂 Wish me luck with the nappy later.

The conclusion is, he is definitely his mother's son - screw carrots, like bananas, be strong-willed. Here's how genetics worked for us xx

Good tips on trying the bath in a non bathroom room and trying one of us in the bath with him - will give those a go

@BertieBotts the other day my dog waltzed into the room carrying Sophie in his mouth! So dog toy is definitely accurate 😂 I'm having to keep her out of reach now as Rowan has to compete otherwise!

Ah thanks @daffodil I'm not overly body conscious so not too bothered about flab!

Thanks to whoever suggested the matchstick monkey. DD loves it! I got the ikea insert for the high chair as well and she loves being upright.

I'm getting really frazzled by the little sleep we're getting just now. OH has been really snippy too. We just spend our evenings and nights trying to settle her and I'm just over it. We'll obviously not over it as I've no choice but to carry on. I'm just exhausted. I really need more than 3 hours solid sleep. DD is not accepting a bottle at all. We're going to persevere though.