Dec 09 - We've found our fingers, we've found our toes, what happens next nobody knows

[Claire236]

Starting new thread before we run out of room. Now to link from the old one. Could be interesting

Morning all.
Holly is 6 months old today! We've not had the best couple of nights sleep. She is too big for her moses basket, I think she is getting disturbed by her brushing her hands on the sides - but also I think we are disturbing each other too.

I am really nervous about her being in her room alone... although if I am rational - she is 'alone' in our room from 7pm until I go to bed. I am going to start off with the mattress on it's second highest level. It's currently at the highest and doesn't look very deep to me. DH has thursday night off friday as his day off so I think tomorrow night might be the night. Don't want to do the first night on my own.

Well done Ethelred on the blw, glad it went well to start.

Hi all,

Is any one else feeling really sad about their babies growing up? I keep feeling really weepy when I think about him not being a tiny baby any more and that this might be my last one. Don't know how I'll cope when I start to reduce bf, weird because it's been sooo demanding but now I just keep thinking about how lovely it is when he falls asleep with his little hand on my breast. Really finding it hard not to cry just typing this .

I can't believe how grown up our babies are getting. Think I've said that before mind you. ds2 seems to be doing less than most of the babies on here in spite of being one of the oldest (bday 28 Nov)

Went to see SATC2 last night & a friend whose dd goes to nursery with ds2 said that ds2 doesn't look happy at nursery then proceeded to moan about how her daughter gets neglected because she's such a happy, placid child & all the other babies at nursery are always crying. Considering her dd is only a few months older than ds2 & she was in tears everyday for 2 weeks before she went back to work I couldn't believe how insensitive she was. Her & her perfect bloody children.

Apologies for being deeply crap & not replying to anyones posts but I'm shattered but didn't want to drop off the thread competely.

Don't apologise Claire - that sounds a bit insensitive I agree. At least the film is 2.5 hours long and presumably she had to sit there quietly and not further upset you with her remarks during that time! I'm sure that your ds is perfectly happy at nursery and the nursery staff sounded lovely from what you said before.

I do have the occaisional moment when I feel like Imogen has suddently got bigger and the little being that did nothing but sleep on us seems a lifetime away. Having said that, she is my first (and hopefully not last) and so I'm really enjoying all the new things she can do, especially as all my friends (without children) keep saying she's lovely and brilliant and now she interacts with them it all seems lots of fun. I do however keep thinking, next time I'll enjoy the early days much more and in less of a daze (hmmmmm I'm sure anyone with more than one child will be laughing at me now!!!) so I guess do miss it already as I'm looking forward to doing it next time. God what a ramble, hope that made some kind of sense!!!!

Hi
Well I just put Holly to bed in her moses basket and as I closed the door to our room I got a bit teary as tomorrow night we are going to move her to her room. So it's the end of a chapter... (assuming the move goes well - DH is off tomorrow night and Friday). I'll miss her - doesn't that sound silly - my house is the size of a postage stamp - I'm not putting her in the west wing!!

So LaDiDaDi - yes, I am with you... she is unrecognisable as the tiny little 5 pounder that arrived in December. I hope you are feeling a bit better about it all - we've so much to look forward to as they learn and develop their characters.

Sorry your friend was so insensitive Claire... I hope she realised.

Is anyone who is breastfeeding feeling like their milk production is decreasing... I do. It's not because of the weaning I don't think as we're only really having lunch at the moment. She's only waking me once in the night and I used to wake up really full... now not at all - it just feels different. I have drank loads of water and mother's milk tea today to try to improve it. I will have to research and see if there is a possible reason due to her age or a natural dip etc.

Klerka - yes with milk production. I thought Imogen wasn't actually eating anything at all so didn't understand why she wanted to feed so much less during the day (and thankfully night), but her nappies show that she is actually swallowing a bit so maybe that is why. She feeds for a much shorter time during the day now. I've also been offering her water and wondered if that was also filling her up a bit. To be honest, I'm secretly a bit pleased as I'm hoping she'll start to realise that drinking formula from a bottle is OK during the day, especially as I'm going back to work in July and have been getting really worried about what she'll do for food! Today for the first time in about 4 months she drank 70 mls of formula from the bottle with no fuss whatsoever.

I have read elsewhere that if you don't feel full it doesn't mean your supply is dropping, just that your body is getting more effecient at producing the right amount. Can't remember where I read that though...

Thanks for the response Hendo... I will see if my increase in water today helps at all. What sort of bottle are you using for Imogen? Holly hasn't had formula yet and only a bottle once when she was about 3 weeks old. Looking to the future when she will have milk/formula in the morning and last thing at night can we just use more of a sippy cup? Probably a silly question.

We're using the tommee tippee bottles as that was what we used right at the start, although we do now use the number 3 teats. I used to express and we gave her one bottle a day from week 1 until she started refusing it at about 11 weeks and just screamed like we were poisioning her. Since then we have tried every bottle possible and different teats and gave up until recently when she started to feed every 2.5/3 hours again and we started to try again.

I did think we might go straight to the sippy cup/beaker for milk if she continued to refuse the bottle but she seems OK for now so we will see. My HV at the weaning thing said going straight to sippy cup/doidy cup/beaker was absolutely fine and would save trying to get rid of the bottle at a later date so I would just see what works best for you and Holly really.

LaDiDaDi - Catherine's been quite a difficult baby recently so I'm more looking forward to her getting bigger and past this than anything else at the moment. She's just so clingy. Refuses to be put down and wants to be carried everywhere. It's tiring and quite tough when I have Alex who is only 3 and needs me a lot too on top of cooking/cleaning etc which is hard to do with her in my arms. I know I could put her in the sling and get on with it but that feels like making a rod for my own back as it will just prolong the stage.

Alex was such an easy baby so it's all come as a bit of a shock. He was sleeping through by 8 weeks for a start!!

Looking forward to her being bigger so she can sit and play. Alex is so good with her and always wants her to play with him. They're going to have such fun in the future

Helps that he is also being very sweet and affectionate at the moment too. He stops what he's doing regularly to come and hug and kiss me and tells me that he loves me and that I am his best friend 3 year olds seem a lot easier than babies at the moment.

Sorry your friend is being so insensitive Claire. Your nursery sounds lovely, I'm sure they're looking after your DS wonderfully.

Klerka, I don't get engorged or uncomfortably full very often anymore either. I think it's more to do with our boobs having sussed the babies needs rather than a lack of milk - after all, they're big enough now to let us know if they're still hungry I've only felt 'full' once recently, when we started food and Catherine did an especially long sleep. She's back to normal now though and it hasn't happened again.

In fact, she's worse than normal at the moment. She was up over and over betwen 3 and 5 last night. She keeps rolling in her cotbed and getting wedged against the bars! I've been wishing she never learnt to roll recently!

Oh and with weaning...I'm adding shop bought baby food in with the home made stuff from the start. Have learnt my lesson with bottles. I waited for the first 8 weeks before introducing a bottle with her and she would never take one - will only have boob. So with food, I'm mixing with the shop bought right from the start. I can't take ice cubes on holiday so I need her to have both.

Alex is loving the Ella's sachets too. He demanded to try the strawberry and apple one yeasterday morning and even had some of her carrot, apple and parsnip one with his cucumber slices when we had sandwiches earlier and said it was delicious.

Thanks Hendo. I will see what I think will work best for her. She sipped water really well from her free flow cup today - yes some went all down her so that wouldn't be good with formula at bedtime when she was clean and ready for bed!

Al - what a cute, cute thing for Alex to say to you! You're his best friend and he loves you! Made me all teary again.

I must get some sleep tonight.

She must have had enough milk as she's been down for 3 hours and I haven't heard a peep.

I'm such an idiot, I've been trying to get Imogen to drink from a bottle for a while and as I said she had 70 mls yesterday finally which was a big breakthrough. Today I bf her first thing, then after her morning nap (she appears to be gina fording today like clockwork!!!) I offered formula in a bottle, she drank all 100 mls and then when I took the bottle from her as it was empty cried, she had a little break and play as I heated up the second half of carton and then drank the whole second lot about half an hour later. Ringing my husband to tell him, I promptly burst into tears on the phone I think because I realised she's no longer going to need me all day, every day in quite the same way and I also felt guilty at the relief that I would be able to leave her with someone when I go back to work. Ricidulous!!!

LaDiDaDi - I think perhaps I am wishing she would stay a baby a bit longer than I thought after all!!!

Hendo - You're not being an idiot; it is just one of the many contradicting emotions that being a mother seems to thrust upon us.

Definitely not an idiot!

Feeding is such a huge part of nuturing, it's not surprising that you'd have mixed feelings about sharing the task. Maybe you should find a babysitter and get your DH to take you out for a meal so you can focus on the positive side

Catherine tried griddled courgette sticks this evening and she loved it. Good job I made about 6 sticks 'cause she munched her way through them all and then cried when we ran out!! Her nappies have definitely changed so some is getting through. I'm so glad she seems to be enjoying it, especially as we started early.

Thanks for the sponsorship Ethelred. It is very much appreciated. Everyone has been very kind.

Right, DH is at a meeting in London so I need to do bathtime on my own tonight and the sooner I start, the sooner it's over with!

Thank you! Good idea on the babysitter - my parents are back from NZ for a couple of months at the beginning of July and they will be up for babysitting galore so I will definitely be focusing on the positives of that

Well done Catherine on the courgette!

Lee - thanks for the advice re bottles. I will have a look around and do some experimenting on sippy cups.

Hendo - I am with everyone else... you're NOT an idiot! It's great she is taking a bottle though - so much less stress will be involved ultimately, and you should have a lovely evening out as Al suggested.

Al - well done to Catherine too. Courgette is a hit here too... really not sure why - I don't think it has much taste - but as long as they like it. I think it's quite moist and juicy, or maybe it's just the way I cook it.

Holly is asleep... in her own room, in her cot as I type. I just checked on her - she looks fine it's just that the cot doesn't have anything in it, there is a lot of space between her and the edges - I guess I mean she looks a bit lost in there. We'll see how the night goes.

hendo, I feel as though emotionally I'm totally anticipating that moment that you had iyswim. Bf has made me so happy/proud/satisfied at the the same time as making me feel tired/frustrated that I feel a similar mix of emotions at the thought of stopping. I'm planning [hopeful] to reward myself with a day at the races with my friends at the end of July. It will be great to go out in the day, drink champagne, have fun and wear lovely clothes that I don't have to try to bf in .

Well done Catherine! Sounds like she'sreally going for it now .

Hope Holly sleeps ok in her cot, going to try to keep ds in his moses basket for another couple of weeks as I hope that when I start to wean him he might sleep a bit better .

Going to get ds weighed tomorrow, hoping he'll break the 14lb barrier!

Thanks Klerka - I'm sure Holly will be fine in her own room and cot. I'm finding Imogen is getting happier in her cot all the time - she has just a cot book tied along one side and her mobile, which has big easy buttons to press, on the other side. She has learnt to hit the buttons to make the music start and when I switch it off at the top to stop her kicking it accidentally in the night she hits it and then looks confused when the music doesn't start! We're finding that in the morning, she'll wake up and be quite happy gurgling to herself for up to half an hour now which is cute (and excellent if she wakes before 7 am!!!!).

LaDiDaDi - you've described exactly how I'm feeling! Day out at the races sounds like great fun. Good luck with the weigh in tomorrow!

Nights are also getting better here - we've got back down to two feeds per night (between 7 and 7). Last night the second one was quite late/early at 4 am so I only gave her 5 minutes and am going to try and keep this feed that short for a few nights, then reduce it by one minute for another few nights and see if I can cut it out completely - also hoping the formula will help with this mythical sleeping through I hear of!!!

Thanks Hendo and LadDiDaDi... Well....

What a great night! She did so well, am so proud. I checked on her when I went to bed at about 10.30. I sat in bed and read a chapter of my book - something I have really missed doing... reading really winds me down whereas otherwise I would keep myself awake being on the computer or watching tv.

I woke with a start at 5am. I must be so used to waking at that time as it had been Holly's new wake up for the day time, despite it being way too early. I was full of milk so crept into see her, wanted to see if I could dream fed her. She was on her tummy and waking so I fed her, popped her back down and she fell back to sleep until 7.30!

I feel like a new woman! When I went back in to get her at 7.30 she was on her tummy again. looking a bit confused and it's taken a while for her to be her cheerful self this morning or I might just be being paranoid that she is upset with me!

DH is fast asleep in bed. It's his day off, the first in 10 days. It's raining here so I plan on letting him have a lovely lie-in then we can watch football and maybe get a takeaway later as a treat!

LaDiDaDi - good luck with the weigh in.

Klerka that's fantastic! It sounds like you also have a lovely day planned - take away and football sound like bliss to me.

Wow. Very

Catherine changed her feeds again last night and I was up at 10.30, 4.55am, 6.15am and then 7!

I think the problem is feeding her to sleep. Need to get her out of the habit so that when she wakes in the night she can put herslef back to sleep. It just makes life so much easier though. Need to get DH to get up and settle her without a feed I think and start putting her down when she's sleepy not asleep. Going to wait until after the weigh in on Monday to make sure she's still putting on weight. Don't want to deprive her of food if she's still struggling to maintain 2nd percentile.

Things were so much easier with DS when I didn't have to worry about disturbing a sleeping toddler.

Well done to Holly! Hope you have a good day Klerka.

I might move ds into his cot tonight as I think that he might be starting to be waking himself up by hitting himself on the sides of his basket and last night he managed to get a leg entwined in the handle! Had a really bad night with him, I also think that he might be better with the blackout blinds in his own bedroom as he is waking up far too early and being difficult to settle.

Weigh in was a bit of a disapppointment, 13lbs 12oz so trundling along the second centile. I know that it's just the madness of motherhood but I really wanted him to get to a stone.

I also just wanted to say how much I've appreciated this thread lately. Having you all to chat to and share experiences, say things that I would find strange to say/talk about in rl in the same way has been really helpful. Thank you ladies .