June 2008 - The Olympics are here and Mums deserve gold medals

[ThePenguinProject]

Thought I'd start a new thread before we ran out of space! Couldn't remember the exact name suggestion so have paraphrased, the sentiment is still the same though...

oops, I meant to say, hi to you all and hope you and your LOs are well!

mamawhiz would echo what tgfsaid re sleeping through... just noticed that she wasnt interested in night feed and began more of a chore than a need -plus it was getting progressively later...

Hi,
Just a quick post re redundancy and maternity. This is my forte as I deal with redundancies for my company. The fact that an individual is on matnerity should make no difference whatsoever, they are treated the same as anyone else in their role/office environment where the job role falls away. However, within my company those on maternity are then offered choices, whether to stick to the original date or to defer the redundancy until the time they would've returned to work after ML. Not too sure if this is the same with all companies.
Should you leave the employment prior to the end of the said maternity leave, then you are entitled to the remaining portion of any maternity pay due to you (yes I used to work in payroll as well!)HTH.

hope evryone had a good night.
Adele woke up at 5.30 for a feed (have had a few 8 am, so a it hmm at this) then had to get ds up at 6 to be at hospital for 7 for op. Now just got call from hospital saying he should be there at 9.30 so got everyone up early for his to sit around getting more and more nervous

Anyway, ds has 1st day at KG yesterday. went well. bit annoyed at my mum, no call re ds3 growth doctor, no call for ds1 op, no call for ds3 starting KG. Crap grandmother Are all your parents/il good? My mil was a such great nanny

Does evryone bath their lo every day?

Shit, just seen time, gotta get everyone up & out,. oops

Good luck today Ernest, hope all goes well.

Bedtime routines, happens between 6 and 7 if he wakes for a feed before 6 then he doesen't get a bath, he gets fed and then taken upstairs adn then changed and fed the last bit of bottle and then put to bed, sometimes in his nest other times on our bed. If he lasts until after 6 then he gets a bath with his sis and one of us and then fed and put to bed and the sometimes he wakes later and then bottle and bed, it doesn't make any sense but it works for us, the latest he is in bed is 8 the earliest is 630 ish, from that he has taken to sleeping through this week until 6 or 7, I do have to say though that both my children take after their father and do fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

The sleep restraint thing worked! Only thing is that Luke did a big wee on it in the night - am tempted to just let it dry out so I can use it again tonigh

Luke is 14.5 lbs and he is nohere near sleeping through. He drains his 11pm feed and he drinks most of his night feed (although was 4.15 not 3.30 last night with the sleep thingy) so he must need it right? Or is he just a greedy guts? Then he wakes at 6.15 and always pretty much finishes his 7am bottle. hey ho.

Ernest I bath Luke every day just because it's part of the routine. I only soap him up and wash his hair every other day though and just let him splash in the water the other times.

Morning all, up since 5.20 this morn, not the LO the big girl. Its gonna be a long day!
Deb - She is looking forward to school, she's 5 in a couple of weeks so more than ready. The school is at the end of our road so we have been walking past since she was tiny, just waiting to get in there. Is your DS excited? Think I may be a bit emotional!
Re Bedtime routine, I start at 6ish downstairs, a bit of nappy off time on the change mat, then dip in the bath (ernest I do bath every day just for the 'routine' of it), Sleepsuit and sleeping bag in dimmed light bedroom, then downstairs for half feed, then finish feed off in bedroom. I try to rouse her by burping her so she goes in slightly awake, this seems to be the best method as if she goes in asleep, she wakes 10 mins later and thinks its time to get up and the whole thing takes a LONG TIME!
GF and Needahand, this week is no go for me as DD starting school, keep me in the loop for a meet maybe in a couple of weeks though.
Rain, and lots of it here today, I have a lovely new raincoat thoughDecided that with another 3 years of buggy pushing and not being able to hold an umberella a needed one.

Morning all - Ernest I dont bath S every day. Partly because DH has been away a lot at the mo and I cant lift baby bath on my own.

Amber I thought bath straight after feed not advised for reasons that deb said - may mention it to HV though and say what she says.

I just wish I could get S to delay his feed so I could bath then bed!

Gotta go make up bottles so hi to everyone else. Glasgow ladies, looking forward to seeing you tomorrow next to ben and jerries - is that the bit opposite babygap? I wont have a lapel badge but I'll be the one sporting the khaki bugaboo bee

BDQ - ooooh get you with your trendy buggy!!!

hi! we don't bath F every day either. I normally let DH handle it and he's pretty lazy so the poor boys can get pretty dirty. Slummy mummy here!

Haven't heard from Josey but isn't the is weekend that her DH does his parachute jump?

Fraser is really unsettled from 2-5 am every night. We are up every 20 -40 minutes sticking the dummy back in and I'm exhausted. We've tried taking the dummy away completely but that just led to hours of screaming in our arms. Anyone else dealing with this? Any tips? I think it's just that he's not that tired as he settles back to sleep at 6am... (We feed hin at 2 so he's not hungry).

hi everyone

fungle thanks, boobs have gone right down I have been feeding Mia a couple of times a day with shields on and seems to have removed most of my milk. I am still gutted but we are much happier, although this bottle feeding lark is hard work, How much does Isla take, I struggle to get Mia to take more than 4oz ansometime she only takes 3!

ernest good luck with the op. I top and tail mia once or twice a day but as dh works late the kids only get bathed about once or twice a week - bad mother! I just worry about safety.

glasgow girls looking forward to our meet up, bdq i'll be the one with a double buggy with only one baby in it! see you there.

Hi there

Fungle, sorry if I ignored you. Just been a bit hectic.

Welcome Agaboo

Lots of you have children going to school for tyhe first time. Debs, good luck and Sybil.

Ernest, hope the op goes well. C has phimosis and might have to have a circumcision, poor chap, so I know the stress of dangly bits! At least Adele should be OK from that POV!

Thanks for all your sympathy re the returned reflux. Whinegums, so great that you had the jabs the same day and saw a pattern. I think you are right - she is much more sickie since then, which bodes well for the next two rounds, eh? Her next jabs are MOnday 29 September - when are his?

SHe was screaming in pain last night and bobbing on and off the boob. I gave her some Gaviscon and hey presto - happy baby! She is all smiles today - she did a little pukelet, but not enough to worry me.

She was also up at 6 am (probably because she lost a lot being sick yesterday), and we gave her cooled, boiled water for the first time. She went straight back to sleep and we woke her at 7.30. HAs anyone else done this?

Re bath / feed / bath - it's a great way to make them sick if they feed straight after the bath, but, like Green fairy and others, Dorothy pretty much cluster-feeds from 5 - 7.30, so I leave about 45 minutes between feed and bath and she seems to be OK.

Essie / Penguin - I was given a 45 Cupcake voucher by work, so let me know if either of you are going to go and I'll join you. I saw that article too - agree: 25 pounds a month is reasonable, but a week is too much! Penguin, you can go to the spa as a guest, but not the classes.

so many posts!

thanks for all the advice on the flight everyone, will definately try the feeding on take off and baby carrier in the airport.

AH sounds like quite a struggle overnight [sympathetic emoticon]

poppy I didn't realise you'd had such a traumatic experience with your previous pregnancy. how very sad. [hugs]

fungle sorry you were feeling ignored, hope your DD is enjoying school. do they have a long settling in period where you are? my neighbours little girl started this year and they have 6 weeks of half days before going all day!

ernest good luck with the op for your DS and kindergarten for no3! we've only just started baths daily, before we were every other day, but generally C has managed to cover herself in sick at least once, and seems to love the bath, so we've upped it!

essie might try the bath together tonight, although the vomit and poo doesn't sound too good, might stick to bubble bath here if possible!

5gomad thanks! will hopefully manage to get to you unaided, looking forward to meeting your DD and DS, oh and you!

BDQ yes, ben and Jerry's is opposite baby gap, there's a noce big space where we can congregate before heading into John Lewis! (I've got a red and black bugaboo chameleon)
slightly disappointed you have decided against the lapel pin though. Hoping Whinegums decides to carry a large packet of said sweets just for effect! (might not recognise you without the baby bump after our short meeting before *whinegums!)

Everyone else, have a lovely day!

Good Morning

Absent yesterday as sleeping alot!!! Fleur woke several times on tues night, no idea why and she wouldnt settle back again but better last night so feeling refreshed.
And her bebepod arrived which she likes i need to support her head against sofa slightly but she is glad she can sit up and see around her.

Re in and out of bath we have a shower and i use this to bath Fleur we have this(mine has seat in though too sometimes i just fill it up and bath her or sometimes we stand in shower and shower with her when we are finished i put her in the bath thingy she can sit in there without falling down under any water etc and then i get dried

Amber Sorry didnt get round to posting other night went up to feed fleur and didnt come back down! I think it sounds like you are doing a fab job and Luke looks wonderful on your photos, think its normal to feel nervous after all once weve given birth they just let us walk out with a tiny live thing and say here look after it!!!! very daunting especially if you have no experience with babies!DP and I both are nursery trained but even then a tiny baby is scarey at times!! Keep up the good work and you know where we all are to help you

BDQ - re colic wind, dont know bout gripe water but the pulling legs up to chest thing is good also massageing tummy in a clockwise direction and doing bicycle legs, i do this when i give Fleur her massage after bath

PP - bedtime routine here: Starts any time after 7pm i like BDQ have prob streching Fleurs feeds to tie in so I wait to do routine til i see she is really hungry, (sometimes give quick feed at 5.30 to get her to last) We go upstairs to room, close curtains, say goodnight to sun and hello to nightlight!!!, music goes on some modern calm pop songs!!! and i give her some of her feed til she is settled, then its bath, shower or just top tail also to bath music (the wiggles bath song very annoying!!!) then more calm music while we get dried, dressed and masssaged, we finish the feed, wind and then i read her a story, then i sing her (dont laugh!!! but my dad sang it to me!) Rolf harris 2 little boys and hush a bye baby!! then i put her in sac and into cot and sit with her for a bit, but its getting less now and then leave her to fall asleep by herself! Long winded but it works she sleeps from 7pm ish, through dream feed til about 4am, 5am , 6am depends on day at mo!! Now got it sorted whole routine takes bout 30/35 mins.

GOOD LUCK ERNEST

Amber just read your later post, fleur is 13 pounds and doesnt sleep through either, she also doesnt go 3 hours sometimes without a feed and certainly not 4hrs no way!! dr said she should but ive decided not listning to her any more as fleur seems starving if i make her wait, so she feeds every 2 and half to 3 and half hour depends really. I think when she is ready she will sleep through night or maybe never!!!! aaaarggghh

Fungle - Hope she enjoys school, missing out on that this year normally at this time im settling 25 of them into school just got 1 to settle right now and i think its harder!!!

AH - Fleur does this some days, normally if she has slept too much the previous day, maybe case with fraser?

Katyo - glad boobs ok!

UDC - i give Fleur water at 2am feed sometimes it works sometimes not but dont give boiled water just plain mineral water dr says that LAnjaron and font vella brands here are safe just as they are, dont boil water for bottles either. Dont know if those brands exsist in england but saves the kerffale of boiling water.

Hope meetup people have fun!!!! maybe us expats should agree to meet up on here at a certain time in day, one day and use it as a chat!!!!?

thinking good thoughts your way ernest!

amber have you tried giving luke bigger bottles? no matter what size bottle i give storm she would always leave a tiny bit - maybe he just needs more grub? waking twice in three hours does seem a lot, i agree

ernest good luck - and sorry your mum's being so slack...

Good luck with the op Ernest, we are all thinking of you obviously!

Fungle - so sorry if I have ignored you, please don't leave. I think this happens to all of us at some point and it is good for us for someone to mention it occasionally. Personally as I only normally get online once a day I find that I have so many posts to read, its only the last few that i remember to reply to, unless someone is going through a similar thing to me. Speaking of which, thanks for asking after dd, we had a weepy moment the first day but she has been a star since. It is morning + lunch this week, but full days from monday. They also get homework which is a bit of a shock once the ful days kick in. At the moment it is just a jolly phonics sheet to colour and complete but there will be reading books and a sentence to write each night too soon. I am so not looking forward to that! Hope your dd gets on well, and that you don't find it too traumatic - I will be thinking of you too for this Debs!

Katyjo - glad to hear that the ff is going well. Jamie's feeding is not improving really and yesterday I was so upset I decided to put him on formula. I got dh to sit him down with a bottle when he was absolutely ravenous and he pointblank refused it. Any milk that went in his mouth he spat out and he whinged for england. In the end he got so upset dh told me to try him on the breast and he fed instantly and with such a look of gratitude on his face! But now I don't know what to do. His bfeeding at the moment is crappy, but he doesn't want anything else. I think I am just going to have to accept that he will take what bfeed he wants and will take no more. I wish though, that I had the option you have and I wish we could have had the resolution you and Mia have found.

sybil I really do sympathise about Jamie's feeding. Have you got any support with this? I'm still working through various things with A's feeding. I'm certain that in his case, the problem is with pains rather than bf itself. The doctors have told me that he has reflux, as he almost instantly seems in pain as soon as he starts feeding, even if he was perfectly happy before feeding.

paro I see you're also not getting very much sleep. How are you feeling? I'm permanently shattered these days. Last night, A slept no longer than 1.5 hours without waking. I don't know if this is still because of his jabs, as they were on Tues? Every time he woke last night I felt like I couldn't move with tiredness. I managed to get 2 hours this morning as he is now catching up on his sleep!

katyjo glad to hear your ff is going well

fungle where did you get your raincoat from, if you don't mind me asking!

Also forgot to mention, had a row with DH last night. Basically I've been getting resentful that he doesn't seem to help ever getting A to sleep at night (unless I ask a few times when A is crying). I know he has to get up for work, but with exclusively bf I'm exhausted, as I'm always 100% 'on duty'. So when I've finished a feed say at 9pm, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect DH to comfort A to sleep. Now DH says I'm always nagging him (he does play with A/change nappy when he gets home from work, but it just seems that I get all the hard work and he can just enjoy a play!)

How are the rest of you finding support from your DH?

Libra, thank you for post re redundancy. I have a meeting at work on Monday. It could actually work out well for me, as there is a much better job (director level), and it is the area I work in, so it would definitely be 'suitable alternative employment.' Penguin, have you heard anything else?

Colic - I have carried on with the prebiotic/probiotic powder, and tried colocynth last night too. We had a bit of screaming, but not nearly as much, so it all seems to be settling down. Don't know if it's the snake oil remedies, or just B getting a bit older.

I am going out with mates for a belated birthday dinner tonight, so Daddy has to deal with any screaming anyway!

Ernest, hope your DS is ok after op today.

Fungle, I am looking for a raincoat too - well a proper waterproof, raincoats don't cut it here - Glasgow is wet, wet, wet!

Glasgow ladies, also looking forward to tomorrow. Laura, we found each other in the SECC full of ladies with baby bumps, so I reckon four pram pushers should be ok! I'll be the one with a Quinny, using a red car seat on it probably. If I spot a packet of winegums I'll bring them!

Katyjo, glad you and Mia are both happier - shows you have made the right decision. I have come close to giving up bf so many times, but my innate laziness has kept me going. Still don't feel we've cracked it properly, but we are managing. Sybil, no suggestions for you, but just wanted to say I hope you find something that works for both of you.

Ucake - the vomming seems to have stopped here too, glad D is on better form as well. B's next jabs will be beginning of October - I'll get an appointment sent out to me soon.

Right, B is snoozing in his swing, so going to catch up on some 'stuff'. Take care all of you.

Sorry to hijack thread again but GF and Fungle friday is no good for me as I am only moving to Bristol this Saturday. Next week probably no good either as I will be in the midst of unpacking shall we say the week after starting on the 14th!

Fungle and debs good luck with you DC starting school. They grow soo fast don't they?

Big wave to all the other and GOOD LUCK ERNEST

poppy34 on "Planet Pantley" she says in "No Cry Sleep..." "You have probably heard that babies start 'sleeping through the night' at about two to four months of age... for a new baby a five-hour stretch is a full night. Many (but nowhere near all) babies can sleep uninterrupted from midnight to 5am... Here we pause while the shock sinks in for those of you who have a baby who sleeps through the night but didn't know it."^ So that much of the book is designed to make you feel happier with what you already have and stress about it a bit less - in that respect it did work for me.

allnew for most of his life Arco was up every 2 or 2.5 hours yelling for milk and taking half an hour to settle... DP and i were going batshit with sleep dep. It's only been in the last week that we are just starting to get consistent 5 hour stretches, the "shift" in sleeping patterns seemed quite sudden. I am not counting my chickens yet ... the flipside is now Much More Awake during the day and needing more entertainment than dozing on lap contemplating the lampshade.

agaboo... I suppose you just get used to it (quirks of your dc rather than sleep dep)...and am all for books that make you feel better - love your baby week by week as so reassuring

allnewdh generally very good re support but I am with you on having particular low point re settling at night.. I think by that point you've exhausted your reserves re settling etc so need a break from "your work" ( I know its not work but it can be qutie full on esp if you have a day where they're sick, screaming etc)...I also find the lack of adult interaction that doesn't revolve around babies tough -don't get me wrong I lurve nct mornings but I do still appreciate a good gos/discussion/quiet time that isnt directly baby related . I wouldnt say this has caused stress but did have to explain to dh why I found it so distressing and i envied him stuff like the commute to work where he could read/listen to ipod etc.

hugs sympathy allnew with arguing DH... I got the "I feel like you're always nagging me at it's demotivating" from snappy DP and had related feelings of resent at dealing with most of the hard work while DP got a lot of "playtime". Boiling up with resent was just making it a lot harder for myself as i kept "triggering" a stream of unnecessary negative thoughts.

After a really big row a few weeks ago, just decided to take a deep breath and bear with it... "this is short term" and time passes and DS gets easier and DP and I learn to adjust to the new childful existence. And DP has been more helpful since not being stressed at .

As Arco is FF i have no real idea but can you manage to express so that DH can do the odd night feed or give you a few hours off just to potter round the shops and have some quiet headspace? Or get friend/family to help for a short time with the daily stuff - looking after DC, chores - so you don't feel so overloaded by being "100% on duty"...

allnew I think what you and your DH are going through is very very common. My DH didn't do any nights last time and I really was exhausted. This time he's much better and will get up with Fraser if I know he's not hungry (30 minutes after a feed for instance). It's such a hard adjustment for a couple and it't definitely changed our marriage in so many ways - I never expected we'd end up in such traditional roles, but we're happy now, it was just the transition that was so hard.