April 2005 babies!!!

[Gem1355]

Hi

Howz everyone doing?

Darcie is doing well but losing abit of weight after she put it on after inital weight loss but okay other than that.

would post a picture but don't know how!

Morning all!

Well i'm putting Darcie on rice monday as she is now on cow & gate for hungrier babies and drinking 8 or 9oz 4-5 times a day and has a top up at nite! so it will b to fill her up for over nite!

Shes getting more gorgeous by the day! Picture in profiles!

Hi everyone,
Freya doing really well, 12lb 10oz at 8 weeks so looking huge. Sleeping from about 8 until 4.30 then back off until 7.30 or 8. Tried giving her a feed in her sleep at 10.30 the other night and she went through until 6! Will start doing that again from tonight but she has had a grotty couple of days with the heat so we didn't want to wake her when she was finally asleep.
Leggymamba, we have been doing the Baby Whisperer easy routine since day one and I really find it good. I much prefer the flexibility to Gina - sure the Gina thing works well but I would go insane if I had to fit in going out with her strict nap & feed times. Reckon it's better for Freya to have a happy mummy and meeting NCT group friends and shopping are only things that have stopped me going bonkers! I found that the easy routine was harder when she was younger as she was hard to wake after a feed but it's much better now she sleeps less in the day. I also found her advice re cluster feeding and dream feeding at night really useful.
Went to look at a nursery today - v odd feeling choosing childcare already. Decided to extend leave until January now but it still seems like most places are already pretty booked up! Anyone else got nursery sorted already?

Hey Delgirl and Merlin. Also tried giving Maddie the 11pm feed last night to see if it would get her through to 4am but she woke at 2.30 and then 5am so there must have been something in the air last night!

just last night bronnie??? dd has been very unsettled today too. She's been feeding on and off since about 4pm. Tried putting her down for a nap thinking she'd had enough and she cried and cried. Have done this about 6 times and ended up in floods cos I'm so tired. Just put her in her moses basket again and hoping she'll go off now, think she will, she's obviously aawke hiccupping. Fingers crossed i'll get an hours break as I find the crying really hard to deal with when i'm tired as well.

The plan was, was to go to bed myself now but just thought i'd come on here for some me time 1st. I was also planning to wake her at 11 for a feed. But, no doubt she'll wake before then and if she doesn't, I think i'm just going to let her wake up naturally tonight.

Good luck for tonight. Tomorrow i'll be heading for the book shop. What's the book called Bronnie, did she publish more than one?the baby whisperer t

sorry, I meant Lucy99 re the book. thanks

tell me about it. kristof woke around 4 for a feed and i was like yippee hoping that he would let me sleep till 7 at least but woke at 6! what's the logic in that? can't be hunger cos he guzzled down a whole lot of milk at 4!

what's dream feeding by the way?

afaik you get them up but don;t speak or make eye contact and make sure the room is dimly lit and feed them that way. Apparently they dont fully wake up so its easier to put them down again. Think thats about it

Lucy99 - I paid a deposit for nursery before Anneke was born (!) and paid a full deposit last week to make sure she got her place. If I'd left it another fortnight they would have been booked up for the month I want (November). You should have a bit of time left if you're not needing it until January, though, and I think it depends where you live (I'm in London).

Delgirl - it's spooky, but I could almost have written your post about DS being unsettled yesterday. Maybe it was the weather?! Anneke got herself into a total state (and I was pretty weepy too) and wouldn't feed or nap or be comforted or anything. In the end, DH took her round the block in the car seat late last night and she is still asleep in it now!! I think she was probably overtired... but she is hopeless at settling herself to sleep so it becomes a vicious circle.

I've read the Baby Whisperer and Gina Ford's book too, but the problem is this settling self to sleep part. Anneke just wants to play or feed. If she feeds, she then sleeps!! I know I'm meant to wake her up so she can settle herself to sleep, but yesterday there was no sleep happening in any case.

Update on my possible PPD... The doctor was really nice and says she thinks my depression is just a normal reaction to everything I've been through, plus normal exhaustion of looking after a baby, and is going to hold off on antidepressants for now. I have to see her every week for evaluation though. I have to say it was a big relief, as I really didn't want to start taking medication at this point.

sounds like a courageous, caring and committed doctor Verso to not take the easy option and putting you on depressants. I'm not against medication of this sort but other alternatives should be tried first. It is easy for doc or patient to lean on medication to solve a problem.

Morning! Well considering I've had less than 5 hours sleep, I don't feel too bad. Must be cos the sun is shining. I've done some washing and sewing and putting dd's clothes away.

DD settled around 9pm last night I think then I tried waking her up gently at 11 for a feed. I couldn't stir her at all but she woke up at 11.30. Settled down just after 12 then dead on 2 she was awake again, fed her til 3 but I did doze myself at this point then she woke again at 4.30 and 7am. She was definately hungry so maybe she's on a growth spurt again. She's zonked now though but Im going to make sure she's awake by 10. She doesn't usually have trouble settling herself and will often lie in her pram or moses basket just looking around but she just couldn't the past couple of days and it is disheartening I have to say. Still, today is another day and she is totally scrumptious so we'll see how we get on. I'm going to go and get the Baby whisperer book and see what that says. Decided i'm probably going to put dd in her own room when I come back from a my sisters next week. I wonder maybe if I am disturbing her as when she goes down at night she seems ok but then she slept not too bad before so, oh I don't know. Gosh, sorry to ramble on , consequence of living on my own!

wrt nursery, I booked a place for dd before she was born. A few months before actually. I was lucky to get a place as someone had cancelled their's, otherwise I wouldn't have. I went to pay a deposit this week and she starts in January for 3 days a week. Really pleased as my hv's children went there and so does 1 of the nice m/w's dd. Didn't know that before I booked the place.

Glad to hear you have an understanding GP verso and that you start to feel better soon. I'm prone to depression and was very concerned about pnd so have warned the hv etc. Thankfully, I feel ok, just the lack of sleep is difficult isn't it.

Gotta go, dd has woken up

Hello all - hope the sun is shining where you are - it's gorgeous in Bournemouth!!!

Verso - glad to hear you'll be seeing GP every week and hopefully you won't need the AD's. Just take one day at a time I think.

DG - oh dear my routine has gone to pot!! Ryan was flat out again at 11 last night so left him - he woke at 2.am. Fed and went round til 5.30am and has just woken now at 10am

Will be reverting back to waking him for a feed at 11pm tonight! Enjoy the sunshine!

Hi Everyone. Not been round much this week as I've had terrible insomnia so I've been barely functioning.

Lovely to hear from you Delgirl. Sounds like you're doing a great job, it must be so tiring doing everything on your own. It will be so much easier once your dd starts sleeping through.

Verso, glad to hear your Dr's being supportive. Hope you're having a good weekend.

Alux - sorry to hear about your problems with Maya and the breast. Hope she's getting on ok now.

Well after ds's 3 nights in a row of sleeping through til 7am (from his 1030pm feed) he's gone back to being fairly random - mostly waking around 5am. Oh well, we'll get there in the end!

One thing that I do thank GF for this time is giving me the confidence to put ds down at 7pm every night. With dd we didn't have our evenings to ourselves for months whereas ds has a 6pm feed then that's it til the one at 1030pm (which dh does).

Now an evangelical rant about another book and swaddling in general: When dd was about 8wks I came across a book called "Baby Bliss" by Dr Harvey Karp and I really wish I'd found it earlier. It has fantastic techniques for settling babies to sleep. The main thing I got from it is swaddling. I've been swaddling ds since birth and still do (he's now 10 weeks) and it works a dream, especially if he's got a bit overtired before his daytime naps, and also it means he only cries at night when he's really hungry. GF says they should only be half swaddled after 8wks but the way I see it, as long as they're not too hot (I swaddle ds in a very thin cloth in just his nappy if it's warm) and they've got plenty of opportunity to discover their limbs while they're awake, you may as well carry on til they're so strong they consistently getting out of it. Before I properly understood swaddling I used to think dd hated it but after I read Baby Bliss I realised that the arm-flailing actually meant she'd strongly benefit from swaddling, which she did.

I've noticed ds's waking hours are getting a bit easier He's finally at the stage where I can put him down in his chair or under his arch and, so long as he's not overtired or hungry, he'll happily kick and watch me and dd for ages. And it's even getting easier to anticipate the tiredness/hunger in advance. It's definitely easier 2nd time round - even with the additional sleep deprivation!

Gem - good luck with Darcie and the baby rice on Monday. Have you discussed weaning with your hv?

verso, glad to hear that your visit to the doctor worked out well and you will be getting the regular support. the doctor sounds very positive and it must be a relief.

just wanted to say i survived the dreaded day today with 2 kiddies single handedly. yippee! it turned out to be actually more than today as dh had to go down to london early afternoon yesterday instead of the planned this morning's journey. but glad to report that ds2 went to sleep at 7.20 and ds1 at 7.45. did the video thing this morning (as suggested by seabird) to keep ds1 entertained whilst i was feeding ds2. then, ds1 had a friend over for the afternoon and they played happily in the garden most of the time. so i am here now, having spent the past hour sorting the house out, finally putting my feet up may try to get an early night before the 10.30pm feed... that is, if i can get myself off the computer. anyone else find mn addictive

wow csa sounds like your day (plus) with both children worked out really well - well done!

Well I've had a lovely day today - we've spent it with a good friend who we've just asked to be ds's godfather and had several glasses of wine - and I've done zero packing for going to Centerparcs tomorrow with ds, dd and my mum (dh is away with work) - but never mind! DS has been refusing milk all day so I suspect the night may be hell, but the wine is making me feel quite chilled about that at the moment!

Hope everyone has a good week. xx

Hi

Seabird haven't discussed with HV but DR said okay when i think she is ready!
Tried her today and she was okay, turned her nose up at first but settled down after and gave her a bottle! so she was happy!

Verso glad to hear your okay!

OMG Seabird! Karp and swaddling! Yes Yes Yes!!!

I had the book but couldn't get it to work properly because Anneke is a big baby and the receiving blankets we have don't wrap round enough. Then I saw your post and it reminded me that I'd read about a special blanket you can get that is designed for swaddling. Bought one at Mothercare yesterday, as I'd only had about 2 hours sleep on Saturday night and was feeling a bit desperate. (I think DH thought I was a bit mad.)

Anneke normally sleeps very badly because she's all over the place with her arms and bashes/scratches herself in the face, or startles when they fall backwards and hit the mattress.

Anyway, I swaddled her last night. Result? Sleep for her and sleep for Mummy (more importantly). Thank you SO MUCH for mentioning swaddling and making me try it again!!!

P.S. The hairdryer works better than 'shushing' for us...

Hi everyone,
I've only just caught up with the thread as dp had last week off, so we've been out and about. The dts are doing really well, soon to be sleepign thru. Ravi went from 9-6 last night, his longest ever. Akshay usually does 9-5 then back to sleep til 7. They've put on laods of weight, now nearly 12 weeks and starting to go into 3-6mnth clothes.
Swaddlign is great for babies, both ours are swaddled at night, they love beign wrapped up tight. The hairdryer is a really good idea, atm we resort to either the hoover or a out of tune radio to stop the screaming fits. If it's loud enough it normally stops them.
Gem - how old is darcie now? I didn't think she was anywhere near 4 months yet?

Kelly, Darcie will be 11 weeks on wednesday!

Glad 2 hear the twins r okay!

seabird, wished i heard about the baby bliss book earlier. gave up on swaddling ds when he was about 2 weeks as he kept wriggling free and i was convinced that he just didn't like being swaddled. although he is happy most of the time in his grobag, there has been times i wished he was swaddled (especially at 5 in the morning!) when he seemingly falls asleep and then wakes himself up when his hands jerk. (i'm not going to tell dh about this tho cos he said then that that wasn't true and the more he wriggles, the more he needs to be swaddled to make sure he sleeps well - can't let him know he was right after all )

Hi all, catching up after the weekend - we did lots of visiting so feeling a bit knackered today.

csa - glad your day with 2 went OK - did you end up with that glass of wine???

Verso - glad to hear your Dr is being so supportive - it sounds as if she's really thinking about you rather than sticking you on the AD's without thinking about it. You sound as if you are feeling better too which is great.

Seabird - enjoy Center Parcs. Which one are you going to? We've been to Longleat a few times with DS.

Maddie is settling down a bit more but took her to the HV to be weighed today and she has only put on 8oz in the last 2 weeks so feeling a bit disappointed. She's now a grand 9lb 6 1/2oz at 10 weeks. I was hoping she'd be a bit bigger as the bigger she is the longer she'll be able to go between feeds - ho hum. I'm now a bit worried that she's not getting enough milk from me so I gave her both breasts today at 10.30 and am going to carry on to see if she's been hungry and I've been starving her with only one!

Now on this settling to sleep thing - I need help. Last time round DS had a dummy which was his sleep cue so I have never had to settle a baby to sleep on it's own - feeling like a first timer on this one. She usually falls asleep whilst we're winding her or (whispers) rocking her which I know all the books say is a real no no. I do swaddle her but should I just be putting her down to fall asleep on her own when I think she's tired? The thing is I don't always think I'm right and sometimes she's got wind or isn't tired. Any ideas anyone??

Bronnie, I wouldn't worry too much if you've found soemthign that works for u, your baby is still very young. Ours get rocked, cuddled, or jsut put down dependign on what is likely to work. I do find that they gpo to sleep easier on their own if I leave the radio on static. They get better at fallin asleep on their own as they get older, and will start rubbign their eyes and have a distinctive cry whe they are tired. I know when ravi is tired as he always rubs his eyes. Akshay has a tired cry and will stop if I show him his blanket, cos he wants to be swaddled to sleep.
Gem - 11 weeks is very early to wean, if you start replacing feeds with rice now, darcie might not get the nutrients she needs, and is also more prone to get overweight and suffer heart probs in later life. Are you sure you need to start already? Her milk intake sounds fine to me.

Thanks Kelly, it's good to get some reassurance that I'm not the only one doing whatever gets me through. I've realised today with DS at nursery that I can really give Maddie more attention and am much better at reading her signals. There is a definite pattern there but with DS around all the time waking her up and us ferrying her around to fit in with his activities she gets a bit overlooked and I lose track of how tired she's getting. I think I need to pay her more attention .

I know how you feel. The dts really want to sleep in the afternoon but sometimes get disturbed by the school run or the older kids.

Then if they dont get enough sleep and get overtired mine have massive screaming fits. Consequently, I'll do anythign to make sure they do sleep, to avoid that!

Well had some good news today!

Jamie never sent back the DNA forms to CSA and was given 3 weeks when should of only been 2! and has sent details back to my case worker and she will be contacting him and his work to advice assuming paternity and need to calculate maintenance!