April 2010 - our little bundles are here!

[lineky]

Thought I'd start a Post-Natal thread as there are so many of us now sorry about the uninspired name.
Well I am slowly realising the sleepless nights thing is no myth - VERY tired!

Hello Tilly

So HopHop and Tilly, are you prepared to share your little ones names? Mine is Billie, short for Wilhelmina Still not quite got my head around that one, and my mum still calls her 'baby'

I have had a quiet day as Boo has a cold. I have spent my time sewing my grandmothers unfinished quilt, given to me by my mum yesterday. Gran died about 10 years ago. 60 little hexagons not bad for one day, all cut out and tacked by Gran, so a bit at times. I do tiny stitches, and so did she - cannot tell our stitches apart. Am considering splitting it in two for my girls when it is done, but not sure I could bring myself to do it. There are some hideous prints in it - all made from her old clothes, table cloths etc.

hallo all! serial lurker here, but have never seen an april 2010 postnatal thread! DD was supposed to be a may baby but was a bit of a complicated madam and arrived april 29th

She was EBF til a week or so ago, after a few weeks of eyeballing everything DP and i were eating, and then attempting to swipe a slice of garlic bread straight off my plate, so has been having fruit or baby porridge before bed.

she is currently in her bouncy chair telling a cuddly mr pricklepants exactly what she thinks of him

Divulged DS's names on a previous post - Ben. Good luck with the quilt stinky.

I'm just mellowing after some white wine and trying to get my life sorted for the rest of the week.

DS fast asleep for the time being. Probably dreaming up how he can avoid all formula feeds tomorrow...

Tilly and ducknipples welcome! 3 new poeple in one week wow!

stinky didn't know that Billy was a shortened nae...why are you ?

Well, last night was better in some respects - Eilidh wouldn't feed from me before bed but fell asleep on her dad at 7.45pm which was great. She woke at 10.30pm for a very short feed, then again at 2.30am...for 2 hours ! She fed, then decided she was full but didn't want to go to sleep! Instead she kept rolling over onto ehr tummy then screaming the place down. She eventually latched on again and went to sleep at roughly 4.30am.

Tonight I made some changes to her routine. She had a milk feed at 4.30pm for about 15 mintes then her dinner just after 5pm...pureed squash then banana and apple puree for pudding (what has happened to BLW? Its not been on purpose ). Bath at 5.30pm...so all an hour earlier in the hope that she would then take a jmlk feed before bed...wishful thinking! She fell asleep on her dad again but woke up at 9pm and fed for 30 minutes. No idea whats going on!

So sorry for the long post again, totally rambling!

mistymoo at the moment I just make Eilidh Scots Porridge Oats made with water and I put a little expressed milk in it or mashed banana. She isn't too impressed though. I had been using the Organix porridge (no miok in it) which she really liked. Only problem is that it needs to be made with milk so I had to express an oz every morning which wasn't always practical...however, think that I will go back to this as she loved it.

Just wondering if Ready Brek has milk in it? will have a look tomorrow when I am at the shops. I remember I used to love reay brek when I was wee.

Hope you are all well.

Will we continue with this...

Stinkypinky, 41. DD1 4, DD2 Billie, 21/04/10
nicnacinoonoo, 24. ds Ajay 4, dd Kacie 01/04/10
Harverina, 28. DD Eilidh , 05/04/10

Thanks Harverina I'll let you know how I get on tomorrow.

Good luck mistymoo.

By the way, it is the Organix porridge with banana that we used and it is yummy . Sainsbury's do an own brand porridge from 7 months which is also free from milk and is tasty.

Thanks harverina. Unfortunately no Sainsbury's near us.

Forgot your in oz!

I'm not in OZ just in the Highlands of Scotland! :)

Dr has said that ds exzema could have been triggered by anything in the formula or porridge so I just have to take the slow route of gradually introducing new things and see if there is a trigger! Looks like I'll be starting a food diary.

Oh god Im getting mixed up with sleepywombat as were on another thread! Sorry!

I am trying to introduce things every 2-3 days and so far no problems. Have been using alot of sachets as well as my own mashed stuff, but going to asda this afternoon to get a load of things to make some decent recipes. Have picked a few from the annabel karmel books so will let you all know if any of them are decent.

Had an eventful few days here at HopHop HQ. DD been vomiting, DS been really off both his solids and his formula. However, we have had a couple of nights where we didn't offer a dream feed and he didn't ask for one and he's gone through til 2 or 3, had a bottle and then gone through til 6, so not too bad really.

haverina don't know if you've had a chance to check yet but looked at the Ready Brek box this morning and it says there "may be some traces of milk".

How's the quilt going stinky?

hophop, yeah had a look at the ready brek, how annoying! There as loads of things like that.
Sounds like your dd doesn't really need the dream feed. Bet you were relieved that it didn't muck up your dd's sleep too much. Its always a worry dropping a feed just in case it makes things worse!
Eilidh has still been really unpredictable in the evenings. One night she is in bed at 7pm the next she is still up at 9pm. We stick to the same routine every night and I have even tried doing everything an hour earlier too. During the night has been better. Back to one feed but instead of 4am she has been up around 2am which means we are up earlier in the morning but I can cope with that!

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. We went shopping today to buy a veg rack. Have so much fruit and veg for cooking weaning food but nowhere to put it!
Spent friday cooking eilidh food and my freezer is full yay! Tried 3 different annabel karmel recipes and also made home made stock. Very pleased with myself!
Some mealtimes eilidh is really interested in eating, other times she refuses to eat at all! Think it may be my fault though as I feel she often has a milk feed too close to solid food. I need to try and schedule feeds a bit so that she actually has room in her tummy. Sorry for no paragraphs, i'm on my mobile. In bed but can't sleep. Wondering if there is any point...surely eilidh will be up soon?!

Hi everyone,

You must all have had lovely action packed weekends! Just checking in to boast a bit - have been cooking lovely food for Eilidh all weekend and I am very proud of myself. My freezer is nice and full of lovely dinners for her. Used annabel karmels book and made:

• bolognese with turkey mince
• veg stock for the different recipes
• see in the dark puree
• spinach and pee puree
• seweetcorn and sweet potato puree
• cod and sweet potatoe
• pear and butternut squash puree

I'm not showing off, I promise

Hope you are all well.

Sounds good harverina..was going to ask what see in the dark puree was, but have a sneaky suspicion it might be carrot lol...am I right or just a complete muppet? :)
No action packed weekend here..just took Jude back up to bed after hearing a very big trump on monitors, and a cry, checked him and he needed changing. He's been slightly constipate today...just as I was about to get into living room, he puked all over the kitchen floor..luckily missing me and his clothes, and best of all I had no bedding to change either! The luckiest poo ever I think...sorry if tmi!!
He's happy in himself, he's threw up a few times today, and yesterday before he went to bed I had to bath him he was covered bless him, but staright after puking he was sitting on my lap, holding my hands and pulling himself onto his feet, to claps by daddy..he soon realised every time he stood up he got more, so every time he did stand up he screamed with delight...just too cute!
Hope everyones had a good weekend..I need some sleep lol...I have a funny feeling Jude will sleep through, when he finally does fall asleep, I can hear him chatting to himself...but it will be my lil girl that calls me in to put her blanket back on, and then take her toilet....and then put her blanket back on!!! xx

Eurghhhhhh...soooooooooo tired! :( Think I went to bed around 1ish, and as I guessed Makenzi got me up at 6.30, but not before I was in and out her room non stop from around 5, Jude had a hard time at 4.15, so popped him in my bed to cuddle him (and rest my legs!!), and I can't even say I slept properly before that...noses needed wiping, toilets were needed,teddies needed finding....and dp slept ALL the way through!! Grrr...well he did until I gave him a sly kick in the shins a couple of times as I 'clumsily' climbed back into bed....he didn't even get up this morning to make me a well deserved cuppa....Men!! It's mornings like this I'm reminded I couldn't be a working mummy...you have my utmost respect xx

welcome tilly and ducknipples
duck ur photos look fantastic quality, what type of camera do u have?

its fffffreezing here wombat i am usually very strict about putting the heating on but we've had it on most mornings recently. throwing it down too this morning. cant wait to walk to school

we have Ajay's first parents evening tonight, i cant wait!

we're all full of colds here, feel really sorry for Kacie with her snuffly nose and cough but not much we can do. just hope we're all past the worst of it by the christening on sunday.

Yeah princess, see in the dark is carrot based. Annoyingly, Eilidh seems to prefer bought baby food to my lovely home cooking ...however, I have discovered that she will eat ALOT more solids sitting on my knee than at her high chair which is a bit weird. This morning she ate all of her porridge, she has never done that before.

sleepy, sorry to hear that sleeping is still bad - your right when you say that it will pass, but that doesn't help how you are feeling at the moment. Sleep deprivation can make you feel awful in yourself. It can make you feel physically ill and emotionally drained. Make sure that you are looking after yourself at other times - I love to have a hot bubble bath and read my book for half an hour in the bath to relax and feel so much better after it (not sure you could cope with a hot bath of its already 32degrees though!)

We are having some sleep issues still - although not as bad as you sleepy. Eilidh is waking 1 or 2 times before midnight and staying awake for up to 2 hours. She takes a feed then just wants to play ...we have come up with a strategy though...I sit up in bed, put her in between my legs and leave her to it! I read my book and just sit and tickle her head etc and she eventually falls asleep. Means that I am relaxing at the same time and she is so happy and content to do that. Not sure how to stop her waking for so long though as don't want to make this a long term habit!

nicnac I have had the heating on too. We are back to the winter timer so the heating clicks on in the morning and early evening.

princess and sleepy, I am not bak to work until May next year so I am really lucky. Taking the full year plus my annual leave. We can't actually afford it but want to wait till Elidh is 1 before putting her into a nursery or child minder so will have a couple of months where I have no pay. It will be a real struggle but we did it when I was a student (although wer didnt have a baby!) and managed ok-ish. Dread going back to work. I'd love to just quit but its not an option. We stay in a small 2 bedroomed flat. Its ok just now but is getting too small for us. As Eilidh gets older and accumulates more stuff the flat is just too crammed. Its a constant mess - anyway, we want to try and move to a house next year so I need to be working .

Hope you are all ok today and not too tired. Will we ever not be tired again????

Can I just ask what you do at naptimes during the day? Before we started solids Eilidh would always fall asleep on the boob before her morning nap. It was always 2 hours after she woke up and she slept for anything between 45 mintutes and 2 hours.

Eilidh has never been a great napper although she gets overtired and fights sleep.

Since starting solids. Eilidh doesn't always want to go on for a quick fed before her nap. I cuddle her, shoo her, rock her, sing to her...sometimes this works, other times it doesn't even when she is shattered and rubbing her eyes.

The past 2 days I have put E in her cot and just left her to it. She did shout a bit yesterday but yesterday and today she has fallen asleep on her own.

I am really surprised as she will usually scream her head off...

Another long winded post sorry

I suppose what I am asking is, do you all put your dc's into bed while they are awake when you know they are sleepy? Do you let them cry when you know that they need a nap?

I think that I have made the mistak of letting Eilidh decide and as a result she never naps!

harverina, I am out of routine a bit too now that Alexander is onto solids, not that we really had a strict routine. He normally leeps after breakfast, since I'm still giving him a BF after breakfast this knocks him out and he'll have a nap. I've dropped the feed after lunch, but I'm still feeding him after tea, so he'll nap then if he hasn't fallen asleep at some point earlier in the afternoon.
I'm feeling frazzled, A is still waking three times in the night for a feed, the HV thinks he's probably hungry but he eats as much as he seems to want in the daytime, if he doesn't want to eat he just tucks his chin in and stops opening his mouth. It's a bit frustrating but I'm trying to stay calm and cheery. I'm just worried as I'm tired all the time, and I'm back to work in six weeks. It's not so bad when I'm at home all day, but commuting two hours a day and trying to concentrate in the office is going to be hard! I'm just hoping that in six weeks he'll be eating a lot more solids. I have started introducing lentils and cereals in the hopes that they're a bit more bulky than just the fruit and veg purees.
I had my coil fitted today, it wasn't too bad but I'm feeling really crampy now which is a bit sore. On the way back from the doctor I popped into the cafe for a coffee and cake all by myself since DH was looking after the children. It was very nice :).

at coffee and cake by yourself, bettymum. Mind you, shouldn't grumble as I've just returned from using some birthday vouchers on a half hour massage... heavenly.

Regarding sleep, both my dcs seemed to choose Gina's eating and sleeping routines during the day:-

wake 6-7
breakfast 8
sleep 9-10
lunch 11.30
sleep 12-2
tea 5
bed 7

As mentioned previously on this thread, I've been toying with the timings of the milk feeds for DS since weaning as he's still waking in the night for a bottle and seems less interested in the day. Things have improved in the past few days as he's not woken for the dream feed so I've left him to sleep and he's been going thru until 4. He then takes about 5oz and settles back to sleep.

When putting him down for his naps, I have usually gone by the clock rather than by waiting for obvious signs from DS and this usually pays off. He takes a dummy so I lay him in his cot awake and give him his dummy and he usually just turns his head to the side, snuggled into one of his comforter toys and I leave the room. With regards to duration, his lunch nap tends to be the longest at around 2 hours, with just cat naps in the morning and afternoon. If he sleeps longer for the morning nap, I've then found he has less of a nap at lunch and maybe no nap in the afternoon.

WRT work, I too am taking a full year, so not due back in April. However, things not going so good with employer at the moment... flexible working application to drop to part time under "discussion". See here

When I say dcs "chose" Gina, they really did! They just seemed to fall into it (I didn't push it, honest!).

Haven't been on here for a little while as Internet been down & away over weekend.

Weaning getting better. As long as George has something to chew/suck (fruit, rusk or bread stick) I can then shovel a bit of food into him & he no longer spits it out. It definitely depends how close to a milk feed his solids is as to how much he will eat. He is still waking in the night. On a good night he wakes at 11ish & again at 4ish& on a bad night he will wake every couple of hrs from 11 onwards. I'm finding it tricky trying to fit in the solids, milk & naps and he's only on 2 meals at the moment. It's getting difficult to find a good time to leave the house!

Regarding naps. I usually wait until he gives me tired signs - usually yawning and eye rubbing. I then usually just put him in his cot awake and he will grumble a little & then go to sleep. If i've missed the tired "window" then he screams for a fee mins before dropping off, but I have learnt it's best to just leave him as picking him up, patting etc just seems to make him worse! Sometimes his nap will coincide with a feed so falls asleep at the breast.

Hubby ran a half marathon on Sunday. His first one so very proud of him

I am still struggling with the name choice harverina - Billie is short for Wilhelmina, which is a mouthful, a bugger to spell, a bit posh like, and was met with horror in RL and on MN name thread . She was nearly a Willow, nearly a Mina, but DH did not like either (and she is NOT a Willow) Wilhelmina kinda combined both names and has 60 plus contractions. Billie was a bit of a joke, but stuck and soo suits her. Her middle names are Hilda Gwendolyne (yes we do love her) and are the names of our Grandmothers. Amazingly all three names mean the same thing - strong. We did not realise this until after she was named.

The quilt is coming on fine, after a few days break due to bleeding fingers.

Back to work in less than 2 weeks, so need to find clothes to stuff my even fatter arse into

Re naps and general sleeping, B has been in her own room since age 10 days (prepares to be flamed) and sleeps in the dark in her room for all naps except rare occasions when I have to be out. She falls asleep on boob at night only, other times she is put down awake. I do not clock-watch, but read her cues, and she is quite happy to go upstairs when the time comes. She sleeps in a Grobag, and has a light show lullaby, so there are lots of cues for her. She sometimes grumbles, and if so I lift her after about 10mins and usually am rewarded with a burp.

Babies naturally have a 45min sleep cycle, so wake briefly - if helped to get to sleep by mummy, they will expect/need this. I leave her to self settle, and more times than not she will. If DH has her, she only ever sleeps for 45 mins, as he gets her up, then she is grumpy and it has a knock-on effect for the day. I check her after a couple of hours, and quite often she is just lying there grinning at me. This also happens in the morning sometimes, which I find amazing. She is very laid back, and loves her sleep - If she wakes at night, I know she has a good reason.

I have a movement sensor baby monitor, and it is only activated by 'talk' so do not find myself checking her every 2 mins in response to little snuffles, or struggle to listen for her breathing like I used to with DD!.

I was a bit upset the other day as I bumped into an old pal who was pushing a newborn in a pram. Turned out the newborn was 6 months old, and was born weighing only 1lb 14oz, three months early. In the past I admit to having felt a bit cheated or embarrassed at having had such a big baby, but after seeing her little one, I am so grateful for my little fattie