March 2008 births

[MarchNowFebMum]

Welcome March Mums (and late Feb/early April Mums!) from the March 2008 threads.

Blimey it?s taken me the whole week to get to catch up properly, have had to stretch myself on doing night routine alone, bath time, and last weekend alone as DP having loads of work stuff to finalise. I feel like superwoman/close to a corpse in equal measure.

I?ve decided I?ll buy the first cloth nappies I stumble over locally, pref 2nd hand and use them for our quiet times at home mixed in with Nature nappies rest of time. Theoretically, it?s supposed to be summer soon and I won?t be using radiators/tumble dryer on them. On the sling front I?m also going to try and get a 2nd hand baby bjorn, as GG is large he?ll be too big for a new one before we get any value from it. Best value of course is for DP: he gets so much lady-action when he walks around wearing a baby?except weirdly for all the Japanese tourists around Camden Market who pee themselves laughing when they spot him. Suppose it?s a cultural no-no over there?

MMH how did your LO?s eye respond to breastmilk?
turtle are you doing exercises for your LO?s feet, or is it so mild it?s self-correcting?
mamaglam how big is your LO then?
c4it is your DD still at war with the baby? How?s it going? Mine is mostly in stand off/ignore mode still. I am suckering him in by using baby toys to get him interested in what the baby can(t) do. But I so wish he would acknowledge his existence more, rather than actin gout tantrums. Mind you, after two weeks of serious wobblies, I think we?ve worked through them. Took more patience than I knew I had. Marvellous what having no freaking options will inspire you to do.
monthlymayhem how?s the screaming mayhem? Do you think it is the dreaded colic?
littleducks I feel so guilty I haven?t toilet trained yet. I?m also downright scared. I know Cod on MN has a boot camp for training, I might do that?and get his nursery school to help out. He really needs to see other kiddies use the loo. That usually sets a light under ds1! Re: the boy peeing, it?s a mystery to me ? mostly he doesn?t do it and then for no good reason on this earth, he?ll wee right through several times in succession. I?m stumped.
derah how did the osteo go? How are you doing?
Oh bngger ? GG waking up, have caught up to last weekend only so far! Still this post is large enough already. Hope to catch up more in better time !

dd has fallen asleep on the rug watching tv, i have put blanket on her and am now shg myself as there isnt any chance of her going to bed at 7.30 now. Has been a nightmare recently to get to sleep and comes into my room all night (very jealous of baby in my room im sure). So i went upstairs where ds was in cot thinking sod it ill will just sleep now as they both were, but of course ds then woke up..... I was trying to be a good mummy only left her for 15 mins while i made burgers out of mince as a treat.

Having a total refurbishment next door which is SO NOISY has meant she isnt napping and nobody can rest in the day. I cant sleep full stop as one of them is always awake 24/7.

Matthew loves his Bara Barn ring sling - consequently, so do I .
He's in it right now as I type.

merry-still doing exercises, but LO's feet miles better, thank you!
I have to admit, I HATE cloth nappies. Am constantly coming up with excuses to use disposables and DH is furious. Will soldier on and hope things improve. Just so horrid with newborn breastmilk poo!

Hi all
Have finally sorted out the broadband, so am back! (ah, the joys of rural living!)
Hope that everyone is getting along well.
Ffion is 8 weeks old now, and 7lb5...still dinky, but she is bf well, and I'm happy with her and unwilling to succumb to HV's mutterings about 'topping her up'.
After five or six weeks of feeding entirely on demand, MIL (apparently a well respected lactation consultant) suggested waiting two hours after I finish before starting again. It was amazing...Ff is happier as she is geting full feeds rather than snacking, and it feels like I have so much more time.
Unfortunately, she talked her way out of my good books on the weekend by saying that the baby should be smiling properly by now, and isn't watching things/people like she should be. Until then I had been of the opinion that she would do things in her own sweet time and I'd be happy when she did. Now, however, I am waiting for her to develop in crazed panic. I know that she means well, and is just worried about her granddaughter, but it feels like she has robbed me of the joy I should be feeling at the moment.

Sorry, rant over....

I think we're falling into a bit of a routine, but am reluctant to try and impose one as she is still so little. Am loving being a mummy - even when sleep deprived and covered in sick!

turtle - have you tried muslin nappies as a way of starting to get used to cloth? I'm finding that my DS is too little for the various shaped nappies I've got to trial - and he was was 9lb at birth so not that little! - so I'm using muslin nappies for him at the moment and they are no bulkier than his disposables so his normal sized clothes fit which they don't with the shaped nappies at the moment. I'm using them during the day at home but disposables when out and at night and I think we may end up in this pattern even when he is bigger as it just seems to work best for us.

Anyway, I use the Jo fold for muslins with a nippa and a lollipop/totsbots style wrap as they are so snug and I just fold and stack muslins when dry so they're all set to go when I need them. I use disposable liners and just flush them down the loo and the clean bits of them are great for wiping most of the poo off him so double as a wipe/cotton wool too! I then just dry pail them all with a bit of lavender oil (rinse particularly dirty ones using toilet flush first but most just go straight into bucket as liner catches most of the poo). I cold rinse in washing machine and then add other washing in for a normal 60C wash so it's not even an extra wash.

I was a bit sceptical about how much work they'd be but they are surprisingly little hassle, and wash/dry so well and quickly, and I'm now actually considering getting terries rather than shaped nappies once he is a bit bigger.

No idea if that helps, but everyone has spare muslins lying around and they might help you get into the routine of cloth while fitting well and being an easy wash/dry etc.

Hi SHH, glad you're all ok in ruralland, just ignore latest MIL comment, their role in life is to irritate their daughter-in-law...and of course to wake their grandchild up 10 minutes after you've spent 2 hours trying to stop him/her crying

Real nappies, have used my totsbots a good few times but not as often as i'd like a) because they get soaked through so quickly so not sure if i'm putting the liner in the wrong place (built in liner with the bamboozles) and b) don't know how to fold the disposable liner thing as whatever way i do, it catches the poo ok but looks very uncomfortable next to baby skin.
However, given the cost of disposables, will be using them more and more!

LO decided that after a whole week of waking up only once during the night that last night he'd do a 1.30, 4.20 & 5.30 feed. Bet he goes back to normal tomorrow night when DH is looking after him in the spare room so i can get a night's sleep

oh and MerryB, how big is GG now, 2stone yet?

Caught up with a friend yesterday who was due 3 days after me but gave birth 3 weeks before me in the end. Her DD2 is now an 11 & a bit pounder, while her DD1 is still under 2 stone at 26 months, so DD2 looks like being a little porker! Was good to catch up with someone during the day though, think i might be going slightly mad with only the internet for conversation

don't know how heavy GG is now. have been given an italian weighing scale by a friend who is leaving the country who had it foisted on her by interfereing ILs (recognise those SHH ). I can't even switch it on, so I guess I will have to brave a baby clinic sometime soon as people are asking more and more! I don't feel like he's very big at all, as i'm so used to him and he is actually almost slender to look at sometimes as he is longer than he is heavy. Then when we went to register the birth, he was surrounded by these weeny teeny creatures in the waiting room!

School is back in on Monday so I should have more time with the baby in the week. It's been hard neglecting him so much, as he really does like to 'play' this little one.

I have a glorious restful day lined up today. ds1 has gone with dp to grandparents. All i have to do today is curl up and try to shake this cold and look after GG, who is a simple wee man to look after, TOUCH WOOD, as the colic weeks really start soon. I am really looking forward to giving him a bath and a massage. Yesterday I had the time to do just his legs, and he loved it, and then slept like a log after it.

I also don't have to cook anyone elses food today! So I can indulge myself in choice and time. I am going to make a bright green soup out of the unfinished pea shoots and asparagus for lunch and then have a really, really spicy tea.

All i need now is a massage for my poor sore shoulders (all that BF in random places with no support). But I can't be arses to seek one out.

Here's to laziness and autonomy and time (almost) alone!

arsed, not arses

Hi Merry, DD seems to have called a truce at the moment - she even asked to hold him yesterday and gave him a lovely cuddle - soo sweet, but most of the time she just ignores him. We are also doing a great line in things Freddie can't do that she, as a big girl, can, with various degrees of success depending on how tired/cooperative she is feeling.

Don't worry about toilet training - we delayed starting till after the baby arrived. I figure it will be easier in the summer when she has less layers on. Also it is one less thing to worry about - I've heard that they generally want the toilet as soon as you start feeding . And they are supposed to learn quicker when they are older.

Welcome to my bathroom themed post! Need to ask two questions:

1. I recently have been weeing ALOT, in manner of third trimester (a million small wees a day not related to intake, no pain). Anyone else feeling this way?

1. LO's poo is really runny, always has been. The other comments about poo being scraped off, flushed into toilet etc would not be possible here. I know bf new baby poo should be runny but ours is straight liquid. Should I be concerned?

Am going to ask hv (last visit on wed) but wanted to take a survey as well :.) Sorry of anyone is eating!

ps sorry to complete the theme but still struggling here wth gas - went through a whole bottle of infacol but i think the culprit is dairy. sigh. v tough as i don't each much meat and so milk major source of protein not to mention i love it!

SHH - second ignoring your MIL! Wasn't Ffion early? What is her adjusted age? That is when she should be hitting the milestones!

MB - The breastmilk worked a treat thank you - having to do it quite regularly as it goes for a day and then comes back!

I went out on my first proper night out last night - 3 glasses of wine and I was pretty tipsy but had a fabulous time. Reminded myself how much I LOVE wine

Oh and for those who may not have seen it, the meet up thread is here for anyone in London or surrounding areas - Meet Up Thread - COME ALONG!

And yes I mean you, PurlyQueen, JFly, e14mum, doup76, HolidaysQueen, timmyinatizzy etc (I found your names on the old meet up thread so I know you are in or near to London!)

so, little bit of a hasty message. my dd, 3.5 weeks has suddenly gone from 3oz feeds to 5 and only stopping her cos the bottle appears to be empty. feel bad enough about ff without making her a porker but does that sound an unreasonable amount. i do mean literally in the last 24 four hrs almost doubling her intake. dh has just given her a cheeky extra oz making 5.5 oz and she has finally gone to sleep after being awake since her last feed at four.

MNFM - just a thought, but could you try switching to goats milk/cheese?

Re baby poo - my ds is also v liquidy - mainly yellow but with green bits (like over done spinach) sorry if TMI . he is 4 wks on Mon and so far exclusively bf.

wearehips, not unreasonable unless we've got the same problem! Mine is getting through approx 27oz over a day rather than the 20ish indicated on the back of the packet as "average", sometimes he'll have 5oz other times 2 or 3, but it did change overnight a couple of days ago. Now he has a cold, he's taking some smaller more frequent amounts so feeding every 2-3 hrs during the day and 3-4 hrs overnight, but when he went up to 5oz first time coincided with him sleeping for 5hrs overnight for the first time.
Health visitor and m/w said not to worry about them getting too much as if their stomach isn't big enough they'll vomit it back up, if it is big enough then they need that amount to fill it up

MNFM - are you having a lot of orange juice? My DS has really runny poo when I've been drinking OJ which my midwife warned me might happen - it's a fairly common side effect in babies. I lost a lot of blood so am on iron tablets and Spatone, and have been told to up my Vit C intake to help iron absorption, so I'm drinking lots of OJ to help, and to mask the taste of Spatone, but DS clearly doesn't react well to it. So I'm in a bit of a catch-22 - make DS's poo less runny or help my iron levels recover as best I can... Oh the joys of parenthood!

ps, my DS is now 5 wks, so it was prob just after he hit 4wks when he upped to the 5oz.
Although, met some poor bloke in Asda who asked me if he was buying the right formula (no 2 for hungry baby) for their newborn - theirs was only a couple of weeks old and getting through 7oz a feed! Don't know why he thought i could tell if he was buying the right stuff though, all new to me!

mnfm - 1)you may have to start training your bladder to hold more, i had this after dd birth, had got used to peeing all the time and so had my bladder. gp said i had to gradually go less frequently so that my bladder started to hold its full capacity. i think you should mention it at your 6 week check up so your gp can rule out anything else.
(i do realise thats a crap explanation btw)
2) runny poo is good, should be korma coloured, there may be soft lumps of curled milk, green poo is not a worry but can indicate wind probs.

Hiya

am happily ignoring mil. I am convinced that Ffion has been smiling for a few days now, yay.

Bloke has the boys round, so Ff and I are hiding upstairs. She is a bit grizzly - I have cheated a bit and witheld bathtime to just before ten o'clock feed. I knew she wouldn't go down after 7 o'clock one, so want to be entirely sure she'll sleep after this one...Am being a bit naughty and having a glass of red.(Any thoughts on drinking while bf, by the way?)

Have put up some pics of the LO on my profile, if anyone wants a look.

MNFM - Ff's poo was entirely liquid until this week when I have been giving her gaviscon after feeds, so sounds like you're normal.

Hayls - she is gorgeous! See here for info on bfeeding and alcohol.

Thank you - both for the info and for comment about the baby.

good article on alcohol. i had a glass of wine fri night and waited the requisite time before nursing but then saturday i noticed my milk was really low. grr as i also love wine!

forgot about goat's milk - great suggestion!

had my first glass of wine on sat night, the inlaws have been up for 3 days driving me mad so i needed it to cope. feeling a bit tearful and crap at the minute, im hoping its just down to my inlaws stressing me out and the fact that weve just found out my grandad has bowl cancer. on top of that i feel like a giant fatty which i know is stupid as i look better know then i did before as i was under weight. im missing my pregnancy boobs as im now out of proportion (aa on top, size 12/14 on bottom). sorry misery rant over!

wearehips - my dd has been having 5 oz since about 2 weeks, shes still on 5 oz now at 4 weeks. she doesnt take that much at every feed though depends how fussy shes being.

i havent started using my reusables yet, not sure how ill manage with the extra washing. plus dd pees a huge amount, if shes not changed at least once during the night shes soaked through in the morning. dd1 and 2 were never changed at night and we never had this. ive got a huge range of nappies from dd2 though, loads of fuzzis, tots bots, sandys and motherease one size so im going to have to get on with it. with dd2 i used them over night as well with wool wraps but im not sure if ill do that this time. if it doesnt work out i will have to flog them on here.

anyhow off to town to buy some clothes that fit as im living in one pair of jeans at the minute!!