March 09 - The spring babies have sprung

[jollyjoanne]

Thought I'd start us up a post-natal thread for the new mummies of March 09 (or thereabout!)

just had a naked Rosie weighed and she has put on 4 ounces so my not worrying was the right thing to do!

Hi Girls

Haven't been on here for ages and there's so much to catch up on!

DS2 will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. Still no routine; all very hit and miss regarding feeding/sleeping .

Still, things definitely seem to be getting easier and I am quite chilled about lack of aforementioned routine and going with the flow for now.

wheely I just wanted to say sorry to hear about the problems with your DH. How awful for you all. Glad it went well with Lara's procedure.

Right, off to catch up on all the posts I've missed....

Quick question for all the Grobag users: what tog are you using and are your DCs now sleeping in a cot?

DS1 was Grobagged until the age of 3 so we are big fans but I didn't think of using one for DS2 until he was a bit older.

Thanks Pintofstella - it could be much worse . We're grobag users - Lara is in a 1 tog - I am paranoid about level of warmth at night ! I keep meaning to ask actually how people make a decision about what to put their dcs in. I have a thermometer on the monitor (also one on my clock and sometimes I have the grobag one around too ) and dress L for 2 degrees lower than the thermometer says to take account of a drop over night. I worry about this endlessly but is what I did with dd1 and seemed to work.

Well done on the weight gain Rosie & Meep ! Must take L to be weighed some day soon...

Corgi - I would only have to wake L if we're out and about and even then not always. Took her to tesco this morning, first stop starbucks for coffee and a feed hoping she'd drop off which she did so plonked her in the 'close' and started shopping, only got to fruit and veg when she woke up and was most indignant about being in the carrier so put her in the seat and thankfully she was quite happy awake and being pushed round (think she's already almost as nosey as her big sister) until we stopped at the till and then all hell broke lose !!

Right am gearing up to look after 2 of my friends 3 children in a bit - one is dd1's best friend, the other is one of her 11 week old (but 9 weeks prem) twins ..... yikes... Does this count as L's first playdate .

wheely I am also paranoid about temp. The best thing that ever happened to me was when dd1's monitor broke so I couldn't see the temp change and fret all night.

I am so much more relaxed with Rosie. Last night she was in a short sleeved vest, long sleeved vest and a 2.5tog grobag. It was about 19 when she went to sleep and probably around 15/16 when she got up.

The night before it was around 18/19 all night and she was in a vest and full babygro in a 2.5tog - oops!

I also can't believe that some 2.5togs are that warm. I have John Lewis one which feels so thin and a grobag one that feels much cosier!

Hope yoour playdate is going well - you brave woman!

pintof Rosie is still in her moses basket - mainly because her big sister is still in her cot. I need to borrow a cot from somewhere and will probably move Rosie into one as soon as we get it.

glad its not just me meep. Our bedroom is ususlly 22-24 when we go to bed hence the 1 tog bag. That's usually without the heating on too.

L is in a crib which someone lent us. Our cot is a huige cotbed which i don't really want in our room so hopefully she'll last in the crib until 6 months .

Robbie will be going in his cot in his own room in a couple of weeks no room in our room for crib let alone a cot. As i have to evict Lexie (dd2 20mths) with her cot into Lizzie (5yrs) room on friday.

This is so they get used to sharing a room while Lizzie on half term I also need to leave the nursery without a cot in it for a couple of weeks so Lexie gets used to not sleeping in there.

Robbie just has a blanket on as our room is to hot.

Gabriel is in a cotbed cot and has been since he outgrew the moses basket at 3w (I mentioned the GIANT BABY point right?). I use a 2.4 tog grobag that was £6 from Primark. He already scootches around all the place!

Anyone with a 3 month-ish old, are they starting to reach for things you dangle in front of them yet?

Hmmm. I ashamedly unpreoccupied about the temp. All I know is that it is usually bastard freezing in the winter in our room and plain cold in the summer. The room faces north and even with the heating on, it just seems to take the edge off it. FB's been in a cot for a few weeks now and we tend to put him in a summer gro-bag which is really quite thin and a couple of blankets on top. They are usually just under his arms/waist height. If I'm unsure, I put one so that it covers his feet more than anything, but overall, I have to say I use gut instinct. I hope it's right! Makes me want to get a room thermometer!

Laumiere I have seen FB reach for things a couple of times and he's 10 weeks. Not all the time yet tho.

Another Grobag user here. Matthew in a cotbed with grobag and covered loosly with a cellular blanket. He seems really content and sleep well, so it must work

NEED SOME ADVICE LADIES

I have a ticket for OASIS at sunderland in 3 weeks time, when Matthew will be 10 weeks old.
He will (hopefully) still be exclusivly breastfed, and as of today has never had a bottle.

SO........do I go and express some milk/give him formula and leave him with a friend for the evening or do I simply just not bother, sell my ticket and spend the money on another treat for myself ,like a massage or facial?

Thanks x

I have worked out that (like her sister) Rosie is a baby who needs to sleep to sleep. She napped for most of yesterday and went down at 7pm without a squeak - fed at 11pm then up for the day at 4.30am.

Dd1 always has bad nights if she hasn't napped well during the day. While all her wee friends are giving up their afternoon nap, she still naps for a round 2 hours then is happy to go to bed at 7.30.

So my mission is to let Rosie nap whenever she wants!

She has her jabs today - eek!

lily, if you really want to go make sure you have treid Matthew with a bottle in advance to make sure he'll take one.

For me I would go for the massage - but that is because I am old and my body is falling to bits . I finally hung up my festival/concert hat when I got pregnant with dd1!

Lily I agree with Meep - try and express first and let him get used to the bottle. He may be like all of mine who were happy to take it any way they could!

I'd go to your concert if I were you - why shouldn't you deserve some fun and time out for yourserf? God know's we make enough sacrifices! It'll make you feel human again!

I'm in Meep's camp, I'd go for the massage myself, but that's because I'm a massage-junkie and er...I don't like Oasis.

FB's a male minx! After me speaking too soon he was up twice and horsed 14oz through the night and was very restless for the rest of it. Probably because he horsed 14oz....

Still on the plus side, we seem to be getting him and the DD2 down at the same time in the evening - around 7.30ish, so that's great.

Meep Goodluck with Rosie's jabs today.

slick how do you do it on your own - I only get Rosie down because I keep her moses basket downstairs far away from shrieking dd1 and dh takes dd1 upstairs for milk & stories.

I have 4 days and nights on my own coming up - I need tips!

I am dreading Rosie's jabs - I hate that moment of silence when the needle goes in then seeing their wee faces crumple in disbelief - I feel so cruel!

Meep I'm lucky that DD2 doesn't have a problem going to bed. She's in the same routine since about a year and a half ago so that's ok on that front. But I should point out that DH is back for tea time so I'm not always doing it on my own. Well, in fact Wed is his long day so I am then. Other than that, he helps out.

I know what you mean about the jabs. It's the look of utter betrayal that gets you!

that's why I'm worried slick - dd1 has also had the same routine for ever and goes to bed happily but if I bring Rosie into that routine I could cause a meltdown!

Everything has to be done dd1's way - she wouldn't even let one of the girls at her nursery carry Rosie (in her carseat) up the stairs .......... "nooooooooo, mummy do it" - sigh!

DH and I have to be sitting in the correct seats at all times - and god forbid if the wrong person is driving the car in the morning !

Do you think it would be okay to teach a 22mo how to give an 8wo aher bottle.............!

couple more photos posted!

Good luck for the jabs Meep. Hope Rosie isn't too unsettled.

Laumiere- L is beginning to reach for things at almost 10 weeks.

lily - I would go for the other 'treat' but that's because I was on the blur side many moons ago . Seriously though, if you really want to go, as the others say, get M used to a bottle beforehand and go and enjoy yourself. If you think you'd enjoy a massage more then flog the ticket.

BTW, have been taking a leaf out of your book lily and making sure L doesn't go too long between feeds and it seems to be having the correct effect. L slept for 7 hours last night, although she had a bit of a grumble after 3 she must have settled herself because I then woke up again and it was 6 am. Fantastic. I am beginning to see that it might not be too long when I can start putting her to bed at 7 and getting our evenings back. That said, it'll probably all go tits up tonight.

My children seem to be the reverse meep. DD1 gave her daytime nap up at about 18 months as, if she slept in the day, she'd not go to sleep until 10pm. But, has generally slept well at night so I can deal with that.

lovely photos meep ! I think dd1 may have the same gilet thing as my dd1 !

I meant to say before, I didn't get any piccies of L as a fairy unforetunately as she got a bit hot so had to strip her of tutu and wings but I do have one of her as a hula hula girl which I must download and post....

meep have managed for about 2 months on my own and my best advice is to stagger naps (I get up 1hr early with Gabe, feed and dress us, get Michael up, put Gabe down, give Michael breakfast etc, he watches CBeebies while I get Gabe up and feed and play with him....

Had One Of Those Nights last night, if Gabe wasn't randomly squeaking and waking me, DS1 was. Am shattered! Was going to get some time off while DS1 was at nursery, but that went tits up when DS1 was screaming, woke DH, who stomped downstairs being all alpha male and escalated the situation and then stropped and yelled because I couldn't say for sure if I wanted him to get up to watch the baby so I could sleep. (Gabe is a major bottle refuser and kicks up such a fuss over formula it's impossible to sleep through anyway).

hula hula girl on profile

Thanks for your comments about Grobags. I have just bought a 0.5 tog one for George and will give it a go. I have just flogged his Moses Basket on eBay as he's been in it a about twice . At the moment he's in bed with me but I think I'll move his cot in to our room.

Regarding temperature, we were always obsessed with keeping DS1 on the cool side as he had a febrile convulsion when he was 2. Just something to consider with Grobagged DCs.

meep my DS1 was exactly the same with sleep and the more he slept the better he slept. He was still having a couple of hours in the afternoon until he was about 3 1/4. Lazy little sod .

lily I would also recommend trying a bottle first. I left DH with our first bottle of EBM last week and George took it no problems. I wasn't far away mind if it had all gone tits up. I am supposed to be going out on a night out next week but am going to cancel as quite frankly, I can't be arsed...

George and I have been out for our first shopping trip today and he slept all the way through bless him.

Lovely photos by the way meep and wheely.

love the hula baby wheely!

Thank you for your nice comments about my photos - but can you not see how angry little Rosie is in the one with her big sis

jabs went fine - she's now sitting in her bouncy chair coo-ing at me!

laumiere - thanks for the tips - I have to say that if I can get them both to have their post-lunch nap at th esame time it saves my sanity as I get an hour or so to myself!

yikes re the febrile convulsions pintof - I would hate to see either dd have one - you poor thing.

Oh - had my first MN moment today as I watched a wee baby getting her ears pierced - eek!

7 hours - that would be nice............

Wow I think there has been 2 pages of comments since I last got on to mumsnet, thats a lot of catching up so sorry if I miss something important. We've changed internet providers - rather than any motherly problems.

Mae is just over 10 wks and she isn't grabbing things per se but she does reach out and hit at the toys that hang fromn her swinging chair and she will hold a teddy or rattle for a short while if you put it in her hand. But she also has a kick gym thing and she is great at kicking - may be she'll be a footballer.

Mae had been having the odd bottle of formula but on Mon I went out for tea with friends and left her at home with DH and suddenly she decided she didn't like the bottle/formula and was having none of it so I had to leave a little early to come home and feed her before she screamed the house down. And I tried the bottle again today and no success so I may have to try again with the expressing as it seems to be the formula she isn't liking.

Mae also sleeps in a grobag it is supposed to be 2.5 tog but I am not sure I believe it, as it is much thinner than the other grobag which is also supposed to be 2.5tog. We do have a grobag egg temp thing, but we don't use it, although I do know from the times we have had it on, that our house is cold - but DH likes it that way as he seems to be permanently hot.

Mae has continued to sleep from about 11pm ish through to 5 or 6 am which is very nice, although I still keep waking up during the night just to make sure. She had a proper growth spurt day yesterday and literally she was feeding about 80% of the day I was only putting her down to go to the toilet or to eat my brekkie, lunch or tea! But today we ae back to every 3 hours. Mae seems to be able to tell the time becos she seem to start crying about 5-10 mins before she is due and as I don't wear a watch it always strikes me as a bit weird that she seems to know when I could swear that only 5 mins had passed since her last feed!

I love all the new photos everyones little ones are really sweet (even the older LOs). Love the hula girl look!

Ages ago I know we were having a chat about the pill, I asked my doctor when I went to get my infection checked - nothing serious fortunately. And she has just rang me to say she had, had a good look into it. The reason that they don't generally prescribe the combined pill to breastfeeders is becos it can limit milk production. But as it hasn't made any difference to mine and I've been taking it for a month that I am not to worry.

Lol Meep DD2 looks like she's saying, 'It's ma bottle an' you're no playin'!' (Sorry, you might need to be Scottish to understand that joke. Not trying to be secretive, but it wouldn't make any sense if I tried to explain it!!)

Wheely Hula baby looks very happy and getting in the spirit of things!

Meep Have you tried the 'hard lines' approach to DD1's demands? I think we've been luckier with our DD2 and FB because she's been a wee bit younger when he turned up but I think your DD1 is a couple of months older isn't she? Maybe she will just have to learn that she can't have it all her way now there is someone else to consider? Might make things easier for you in the long run? I hope you don't think I'm telling you how to parent, I wouldn't dream of it. Sometimes it's difficult to get the tone right on a computer!!

Topically, FB reached and held, very deliberately, for one of his mobile dragonflies today. He looked very pleased with himself I have to say!

We were all out in the garden today as it was very hot when the sun stayed out, and I had a friend over with her three kids and then the neighbours kids over and before I knew it I was looking after 8 kids for a while! I showed all the bigger ones how to leap frog over someone. It was pretty amusing as my DD1 and the neighbour's girl tended to have the rugby tackle approach and knock said frog to the ground in a crumpled heap! All these things I just took for granted as a kid....!

Just a whinge, move along .

I have to admit to having a bit of a crisis of self-esteem at the moment anyway (post-baby belly, being sicked on a lot, no point in wearing nice clothes). This is NOT HELPED by having a sudden break-out of the worst spots I've had since 17 (anyone else had this post-baby?) and my DH going off sex with me. Yep, I'm badgering him!

Wahhhhhh! throws toys from pram I want to feel like a freaking lady dammit!