July 2023 babies

[Summermeadowflowers]

Hello everyone! So this is a continuation of the pregnancy thread(s) as we’re almost full.

DD was born by elective section on July 18th. Her older brother was born following an emergency section after a failed induction in December 2020 and I didn’t want to go through that again! It was a lovely chilled experience and I was a bit nervous waiting but felt like I was in good hands. I was also home the next day.

Feeding has been tricky for us. I really wanted to breastfeed but as with DS, DD hasn’t taken easily to it and struggles to latch. Nipple shields help to an extent although are not a cure all but she doesn’t get much milk and ends up frustrated anyway. I’ve mostly been expressing for her but realistically don’t know how long I can keep it up. It’s a shame as I do really want to breastfeed but it isn’t happening!

Oh and my wound is infected … lovely!

How is everyone else?

Also, on bringing half the house with you - 😂 We’re getting better now we have two of them, but going away for the weekend fills an entire Skoda Octavia…

We had a long nap today @habiller. I think it was her swimming that did it. I was a bit worried we’d have a bad night as a result, but (whispers) DD mostly sleeps through. She went to sleep at just gone 9 and woke at 437 (very precise!) today but a lot of times she won’t wake until about 6. Of course, this could well all change!

I have three days on my own now, two with two children. In a way it isn’t too bad as I can set the pace of the days, it’s the evenings and not having someone to hand DD too as she still has a witching two hours 7-9 usually. It’s pouring down tomorrow so going to a toddler and baby music class then an aquarium, it’s only small and a bit rubbish but the children will like it!

Torvi is 11 week now and is pretty consistently sleeping 9pmish until 3:30/4, quick feed and change and back down until 7:30/8ish. Can't really complain at that but will be happy to see the back of the 3:30am wake up call 🤣.

I also have a DD who is 2 and a half almost and she's constantly going batshit looking for attention so I take her to the park pretty much every day and do as much as I can at home with her, which is hard when the little one is having one of her fussy days. She's also taken to not wanting a nap during the day even though she clearly still needs one so anything post 5pm is a nightmare 🫠 I have another DD who is 16 so I get her to take her out for a walk and to the park again after dinner just to break up the evening spell a bit!

Getting a couple of child free days from Saturday. OH and I are going out on Saturday night and then off to the lovely spa hotel on Monday night so his family are going to take the two wee ones for that whole spell. Won't know ourselves, think I'm most excited about the undisturbed sleep and morning coffee in peace 😄.

Speaking of postpartum bleeding - I've had two periods, three weeks apart. Brown discharge in-between. So still not quite settled and fairly crampy at times. I had my tubes tied as well though so thinking the cramps are maybe related to that. Will see the space between my last period and next.

Has anyone gone to any baby classes yet? My dd is 10 weeks old and I don't really know any mums apart from my own mum and grandmas. I'm really nervous about going to classes and I'm not sure why.

I go to a baby sensory class and I also go to a baby group in our local church hall. Both are good but if you are particularly keen on making friends I’d recommend the more unstructured groups. Hard to really chat to anyone beyond ‘hi how old is your baby’ in things like baby sensory.

I love baby classes - DD goes to three a week plus baby swimming and the toddler groups her brother goes to! We do baby sensory, baby massage and a baby music class. People are friendly but they do sometimes go with friends from NCT or similar.

Our night sleep has gone to pot recently. We are still getting 5 or so hours at the beginning of the night, but it starts far too early - can’t keep DS2 up beyond 8. Have tried a later nap but he’s inconsolable if woken. After that it’s usually hourly wake ups and by 5 hes basically awake 😵‍💫

Oh that’s tough @VivaVivaa . Waiting for the four month regression here (at four months obviously) as it feels like there has to be a catch. Well - there is, the days. They are a lot better but I just wish I could put DD down sometimes! I quite like car journeys as it’s one of the few times she doesn’t have to be held. I wouldn’t mind a bit if I got to sit down but I have to be stood up and walking which does get a bit exhausting.

We did our first baby class today - picture awkward singing, shaking musical instruments and a bubble machine for the final piece! Mine was the youngest and he cried through the first song, feed through the second and then had a lovely nap! But I did go to the cafe afterwards with other mums so not a total waste of money.

Today is the tiredest I've been since Torvi was born and its not even because of her! OH had an accident at work and ended up with caustic soda burns all over his feet. Faulty valve at work so they are liable. Was in the hospital until 2am with him, up at 4:30am to help him run more water on it and change the dressing. Then he left at 6am to make it to the burns unit at the hospital for 9am - we can't drive so public transport it is. I didn't sleep again until well after 7 and up for the day at 8:30am 🫠🥲

Same! Dd gets a decent stretch of sleep but it starts too early. She could easily go 6 hours and I wish that started at 10pm and not earlier! @VivaVivaa @Summermeadowflowers we went to our first unstructured class today and dd was by far the youngest but she liked the sensory lights and music. I was so nervous!

Shit that sounds horrendous @Rutennotou - how are you all doing now? I hope your DH heals quickly.

@AngryBirdsNoMore We are okay thanks! His family took the kids for a few hours so I was able to eat dinner and take a nap 🤣. OH due back in the burns ward in a weeks time and the treatment room at the health centre here every other day to change the dressings until then. His work have started an investigation into what happened but they've admitted liability.

@Rutennotou oh god!! I hope his work sort the faulty valve out and your DH is okay!

We start a swimming class tomorrow and baby sensory on wednesday. I am so nervous as, as you all know, my DS is not the happiest baby. He loves his bath, but HATES getting out and getting dressed so I am feeling sick already about getting out and having to get both him and me dry and dressed as everyone is going to think I am really hurting him the noise he makes. Baby sensory, I can already hear him crying through the whole thing but we will see.

However, .we went to my DHs uncles funeral yesterday. This was just over 2 hours away, the longest we have ever travelled with DS. Apart from when he woke up when we got to the service station, he slept the whole way there and back. I am sure he would have slept the whole 2hrs 20minutes, but we were very conscious that he shouldn't be in his car seat for more than 2 hours at a time.
But I am so so proud. I did not want to take him into the funeral due to how unsettled he was, but the whole family told me to come in and not to worry and I was ready to leave via the side entrance when he kicked off, but he sat AWAKE on me, smiling up at me, NO NOISE for the whole 40 minutes. I could not believe it and I actually cried (probably emotional from the funeral too) at how good he was.
Then we went to a pub afterwards for the wake. He cried a bit when we got in, but he was over tired by this point and fighting a sleep. He then slept for about 30 minutes on and off and then I gave him a 4oz bottle of expressed milk, which he fell asleep straight after and then we put him in his seat and slept until we got to the service station and hour away. He screamed the whole way round the service station as me and DH were getting our food, but that's because he didn't want to be awake 🤣 then back in the car and back to sleep until we got home. This was 6.45 we got home, then he went on the boob as it had been about 3 and a half hours since his bottle and then I had to keep him awake until half 8 when we took him up for a bath and he has his bedtime bottle.

He had a slightly better night, usually he's up every 1.5-2 hours but last night, he had his bottle at 9, and down in his moses basket at half 9, then up at 11.45, then up at 2, then up at 4.30, then up at 6.50 and then we got up for the day and he's asleep again now.

He sleeps so much during the day, but not at night 🤷🏼‍♀️🤣

But so proud and surprised how yesterday went.

Well done @AnxiousAnnie94 you should feel just as proud of yourself as your DS.

Had the 8 week vaccine this morning. Pushed back 48h as the practice nurse was poorly. My DS1 was a very highly strung, high crying newborn. He slept solidly for 24h after the jabs and didn’t seem oberly bothered. DS2, who is generally a calmer newborn and cries less has been screaming on and off for about 5 hours straight now. Not the one. Thank God today and tomorrow are DS1’s pre school days 🙃

Edited to add: suggestions welcome! Pram walk finally got him to sleep for 50 minutes and I’m just going to try a bath.

@VivaVivaa i would have suggested bath - my other failsafe is to put him on my chest with his dummy in and rock him from side to side while singing or humming with my chin / throat on his head so he can feel the vibrations.

I have no other suggestions, just solidarity and sympathy (and ☕️ and 🍷)

Well done @AnxiousAnnie94 ; that must have been a tricky day. I hope it gave you confidence in your abilities and you were able to enjoy showing off your baby to your family.

We also had the 8 week vaccinations today, and administered by a student no less! Baby went bright red and emitted quite the wail, before calming down again. The nurse described him as stoic, which is a lot for a baby! He’s been quite sleepy ever since, poor lamb.

I’m dreading the immunisations - on Monday It wasn’t too bad for DS but as @VivaVivaa has pointed out, what holds true for one baby doesn’t for another!

We had baby massage today (or yesterday I suppose!) and it was LOVELY. Such a chilled, peaceful class and a real contrast to the one I go to Thursday mornings with DS, which is also lovely but so loud and chaotic in comparison 😂

I think I’m really going to have to consider upping DS’ childcare hours though. He currently attends a private day nursery for three days but for the two days I have him it’s really hard keeping him and DD happy and entertained. In the better weather it isn’t too bad but as autumn becomes insistent and winter it will be a struggle. I am considering a local preschool for two afternoons but feel a bit mean, not sure really

Well done @AnxiousAnnie94 that's amazing! Hopefully it makes you feel a bit more at ease about going places as well. Let us know how he gets on with swimming and baby sensory. We're doing a 3 week trial at baby sensory but I'm thinking I'll just leave it after the trial and do toddler sense instead when the time comes. We do a lovely class on a Wednesday called Baby Days and it flows so well, whereas I find baby sensory quite stop start and Tilly seems to get a bit fed up with it.

As for swimming, I'm debating taking her to a local private pool when she's old enough to hold her head up. Then I can put her in one of those floaty seat things. I can't bare the thought of having to hold her in the water. They're slippery little things when wet 😂 I'd be too worried about her slipping out of my arms or something. I can't stand swimming though, hence the private pool. It's an eye watering £30 per hour 🫣 but they clean it between each use. My 8 year old has only been swimming twice so I'm determined to take Tilly a bit more than that 🙈

You mentioning the car seat has reminded me - what advice has everyone been given re length of time in car seat? We've seen varying midwives and health visitors and it's been different advice all round. I've been told two hours by some, and absolutely no longer than 30 minutes by others. I've been sticking to the lowest I was told which is the half an hour because I'm too worried to leave her any longer than that. Just can't understand why I've been told two different things, you'd think they'd all be told to give the same advice 🧐

Well swimming was a hit! The only bit he didn't like was the 5 minutes tummy time on a float in the middle of the pool, but being a reflux baby, he doesn't really like tummy time so didn't expect him to, but was smiling the rest of the time :)
He also didn't like getting out and dressed but he's like that after bath time too haha. So I'm pleased I went and did it! We have a class a week until the end of December :)

The pool is 5 minutes away from our house and as soon as we drove away, he was asleep!! I woke him up when we got back and gave him a bath as didn't want the chlorine irritating his sensitive skin. Just given him some boob and hoping he might go back off to sleep, he looks very tried!

@rach971 Everyone I know has said 2 hours for the car seat - though most parents are stretching that a bit! We did a 2 hour and a quarter journey at the weekend without breaking it up, and survived. One of us was sitting in the back with him though. The journey was slower on the way there, and he woke up and cried every time we got stuck in traffic, so we did stop for a boob halfway.

@AnxiousAnnie94 Glad your swimming went well. I'm making Spouse do this, so I can do some swimming myself!