FEB 2010 No longer newborns!!

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

Three months and counting, everyone! Our babies are gradually getting the hang of the world...and we are gradually getting the hang of them...

mamaloco how did you land in Romania (sorry I'm nozy!)? Where in France are you from?

DH went out tonight and was due back by 8.30pm, but he's got delayed (by a pint or more) and now I'm waiting to finishing cooking dinner and to eat... at least DS went to bed without a fuss.

Thanks again for the support. As some of you have said, it's so lovely to have people on here who are behind you. I have to say that when I speak to my RL friends about it, I sometimes have to abort due to welling up, so on here I can take my time and say how I feel. In actual fact, you can't stay at full alert at all times and we have concluded that, apnoea or not, the monitor is on and reassuring us that DS2 is breathing while we sleep. God knows how I'd sleep without it.

IC I was a rubbish sleeper before and after having DS1. Bizarrely, from the night I had DS2, I've slept really heavily - not sure why but it's been a lifesaver, so maybe you will do the same in the future.

Went to a cafe today and asked for a coke. The waitress said, "Not a diet coke?" . I thought I was looking relatively slender, but clearly not!!

DS1 has recovered from last night's vomiting and grandparents have kindly had him tonight (as first time in 6 months). Did DH and I spend the day shagging like rabbits? No, I cleaned the conservatory blinds while DH mended the outside tap!! The life of a second time mum...

Sorry for long self-centred post!

bethylou we love you (see it rhymes and everything). Glad your feeling a little more sane. If it helps I apparently stop breathing in my sleep, still freaks DH out everytime. I get random prods or wake up to find him checking I'm breathing (just what you want to see upon waking). And that waitress, what a cheek, I'd have slapped her (well not really but would have wanted to). Enjoy your evening, hopefully you'll get round to shagging like rabbits resting, there's still time....

Also glad there's still hope for me and IC and our inability to sleep. So if I've got this right, we just need to have another DC. Hmmmmm will maybe put up with it for a bit longer. Tummy is finally better btw, hope everyone elses bugs clear up OK

Thanks again for all the congrats. Can't wait until we finally move and then I can rest do alot less for 10days before starting work. Introduced DH to MN today, in preparation for him becoming a SAHD. Now everything that I say/do gets a YABU or YANBU response but said as one word......what monster have I created (trying to convince him to join this thread at some point but don't think he's buying it, reckon he'll be a silent lurker assuring himself her difficult phases are normal). He's even set himself up a LO blog to keep the family updated. oooooh that ended up a long one.

Post the link to the blog, CC!

Well, I had a bit more sleep last night seeing as I went to bed at 20.30! Awake since 0500, though (and 4 awakenings before that too....) Not that I would wish this sleep desperation deprivation on anyone, but it's nice to know I'm not alone. Poor you, CC - AND going back to work soon (plus jetlag) - good luck!!

bethylou, thanks for the reassurance - can really use it.

Unfortunately, my lack of sleep is now being further complicated by the unwelcome return of my IBS. Grrr. Last time it was work-related - combination of sleeplessness and and stress. This time? Same thing, but child-related. Unfortunately I can't change my shift pattern or job to deal with it now.
Ah well. Hopefully it'll ease off once DD's sleeping in longer stretches and my New Mum Anxiety wears off a bit.

bethylou at that waitress - cheeky bint!! Maybe she said it because she's used to thin ladies insisting on the diet version...

Oops, post curtailed owing to DD requiring Mummy Nap Magic!

Meant to say hi sunnymummy!

Also interested to know where the French contingent are from seeing as my mum lives in the Lot area, so we go there a lot.

And bethylou - don't worry, your posts aren't long-winded and self-centred (not compared to mine, anyway!!) - Personally, I'm just as willing to share your woes as your joys. Need someone to share mine! Like you, I have a tendency to well up if I try and discuss them with people in RL. Online is good catharsis....

Diet coke is minging so that waitress was a fool. I've given in and been scouring the charity shops for summery clothes to fit my larger bum but keep trying to tell myself its healthier to loose the weight slowly.

I don't think anyone needs to worry about over talking themselves and their little ones here, those posts are the reassuring ones and in RL people tend to glaze over at more baby talk unless they have one. At least here we all have Little Ones!

Had a really good lie in this morning and woke up like it was day 3 . I pumped 10oz which is unknown for me lol.

We seem to have gone back to 3 or 4 hour sleep stretches at night which is an improvement and when it's timed at once in the night it's ace.

Sorry to hear about your IBS IC, that's rubbish Have you tried any relaxation or hypno cd's to help with your sleep?

GTG Sx

just a quicky to say hello! got really cack internet access at the mo in the temporary place we're staying, so hardly get online, and when i do, it's to look for somewhere to live or jobs!! past the jet-lag now, and just about over the colds we all got on the flights?. have had a quick read and sounds like some of you have been having nightmares ? go doc cc how cool is that?!

hope you're all well - more soon when we get somewhere to live and a job to pay an internet bill!!

Funnily enough, I was thinking about giving that kind of thing a go, sunnymummy... any recommendations?

DD's now entering the third hour of a humungous nap after she only had a couple of foreshortened ones earlier on... still at least she's getting the sleep. Wish she'd do this kind of stretch overnight. I suppose I could mess up her naps, but then I get a grumpy baby all day...

Don't worry girls about talking about ourselves, that's why MN is there for, to put online what we can't share in RL.

I can't believe how nasty was this waitress SM hopefully you haven't tipped her!

The 1st settling in session was fine, mostly paperwork and the supervisor dealing with DS for his feeding. I'm now sawing labels on his clothes and nappies to go to nursery. I now have to find a way to label the bottles, still don't now if I'm sticking a label which will get unstuck after the bottle was warmed up or use an indelible pen and rewrite every so often... Need to order more nappies and a wet bag to store the wet/dirty nappies... What a lot to organise!

DS and DH are sleeping now and maybe after that, we'll go to the pub for a pint or more!

Ooh, hello stoof! Good luck with slotting yourself back into UK life!

Awake since around 0200.... Ugh. Again, partly DD's fault, but mostly mine. I keep having emotional meltdowns due to lack of sleep, poor DH. He's prescribed yoga and guitar playing to help me relax a bit more. Good advice, I'm already taking it. Also grabbing some Aloe Vera to hopefully help the IBS a bit. The frustration of lying awake for hours while DD sleeps soundly beside me is intense!

Anyway, we soldier on. Luckily DH is being lovely and a tower of strength while I dripdrop around him.

I'm encouraging DD to feed better in the day by trying different BF positions. She seems to prefer being more upright, so standing up and feeding her or sitting her on my knee seem to be ways forward. At night she seems happy enough to go back to being cradled. Honestly, she is an awkward one at times!

How are the washable nappies going, those who are? Our Pop-Ins have been good in terms of convenience and not leaking (when she doesn't sleep on her side!), but I'm not a hundred per cent convinced they're all that comfortable, with their large poppers at the back and bulky elasticated waistline. DD usually protests when we put them on her, although she quickly calms down again once they're on and she's recovered from the indignity. Still....

Good luck getting sorted for nursery, GF!

I'll send you a message IC

Thanks!

ARGH! Second set of door-knocking Christians today. I bet Jesus didn't want them to wake my napping baby.

Nothing more guaranteed to put you in a less charitable mood, eh?!

Hi everyone, hope you all had a good bank holiday weekend (in the UK anyway)!

Welcome back sunnymummy I can't believe you pumped 10oz!! I count myself very lucky if I get 4.

Hi stoof! Best of luck with the job- and house-hunting. All very effortful at the best of times, never mind with a new baby.

Commiserations to you with the lack of sleep IC. It does make you feel sh*t doesn't it. I've given up trying to have a daytime nap when DD sleeps as she is guaranteed to wake just as I am dropping off, and feel worse than if I hadn't tried. I won't complain too much though, as she is sleeping pretty well at night at the moment .

We're doing fine with our cloth nappies here. We have two types, motherease and tots bots fluffles, and with 40 nappies we can get away with going up to 4 days between washes (a godsend when the god damned washing machine broke down ). At my mum's we have bambino mios, but the wraps are TERRIBLE, of the four we have three leak so badly it's not worth using them. They are secondhand so I've taken some MN advice and am going for bumgenius flip wraps to use with the BM inserts.

No signs of any rolling at all from DD. But I tell myself the longer she stays in one place, the better...

Just marking my place to come back later.

IC I found with both DD no point messing naps, if they sleep they need to sleep! how many and how long a nap have very little incidence on their sleep at night. OK, it much easier to accept when you LO is a good sleeper anyway . After a few nights of waking for a dummy, DD2 decided to have an extra bottle at 1am, it took me at least 1h to find what was her problem. I read on MN about the 4 months sleep regression? may be? never had that with DD1. Anybody experiencing that? I would have thought it was only for BF baby not FF anyway.
IC Sorry about your IBS, hopes it gets better soon. I have trouble with ripe bananas and soy products. Have you noticed any new food with may trigger it?
GF no, your not that nosy! I was born in Paris, but since my master I have been around france and after my phD around the world so I am not sure if I am still french or parisian anymore. It does feel lovely when I go to Paris (very little), and I think it is beautiful, but I don't know if it is really true or it is because I have memories. Where are you from? Actually are you in Guernesey or is it just a name? (my turn to be nosy).
I ended in Romania with my DH's UK company who dumped us there soon after the crisis started. but we were both serial expats before we met, so not so surprising that we would take a opportunity like that.
May be the early weaning is due to our frenchness too, my midwife here is suiss, both docs worked in france for a while.
fizzy you are right I am not in hurry for the moving around. First time around I was kind of envious of those mums with babies they can put in a corner and chat while I was already chasing my monkey. DD1 bumshuffled at 6 months and cruised at 8 (for new mums, it is when they can walk holding onto furniture). Apparently no luck, DD2 seems to be already standing on her legs . At least I hope it will help me shuffle the baby weight which seems to stay stucked to my tighs .

GAhhhh You are not that nosy....
stoof good luck you are very brave.

mamaloco I'm French, I was born and grew up in Clermont Ferrand. * years ago, went to Guernsey for a 6 months job, meet DH, who is British, and stayed.

IC I use Bumgenius all in one v3. I have no problems with them. I do have some leaks sometimes but it's because DS has been wearing them in excess of 4 hours. At night I use an additional bamboo booster for additional absorbency.

Ds seems to want to be on the move all the time, but can't as yet , cue frustration cries when he realises he can't move or go where he wants. I think once he can roll/bumshuffle/cruise/walk my sanity tranquility will go!

We already started to look at all the equipments to make the house safe. At the present it reaches £109 on Amazon!

What kind of things are you buying GF? (nosy) I know we'll have to have stairgates and a gate for the kitchen too, but other than that haven't thought very far. The baby whisperer advises to teach your baby not to touch things rather than move everthing out of the way and I'd like to do that, if possible.... (famous last words)

DrCC can I be really nosy and ask how it has turned out that you are going back to work and your DH will be a SAHD?

Thanks for the nappy info!

Also, the good wishes.

mamaloco I've found a definite correlation between DD getting reasonably sleep in the day and sleeping better at night - but most of all, it stops her from being a grumpy baby during the daytime if I can make sure she gets her naps! She's not always willing to just sleep when she's tired, often she just fusses and cries until helped to drift off by various means (pram-rocking, going for a walk, sling, 5S, swaddling, feeding etc....) But I don't think all babies are as nap-resistant (and some are a lot worse...!)

Also, there seems to be a correlation between bed-time and quality of overnight sleep. If DD goes down later than 1930, we often have a more fretful time of it when she wakes later in the night than if she has an earlier night (doesn't affect the number of awakenings, but she seems to resettle more quickly).

Anyway, I feel a lot less despairing today - I went to bed at 20.30 last night and DD rewarded me by resettling quickly after her awakenings (4 in total), which always makes the difference. Means I can keep myself in a state of sleepiness while she feeds and am more likely to fall back into nodland than if I have to fully wake up (which triggers the anxiety/insomnia/IBS...)

I put DD in a disposable nappy overnight as I think the other one only adds to her hotness - whether that helped or not, I don't know! She fussed less when I put it on her, anyway....

Fizi At the present I've been putting on my wish list:

• 3 stairgates - 1 to put at the kitchen door and 2 for the stairs (one of them is without a no-trip which is for the top of the stairs)

• some door handles locks (not for the kitchen as DS should be stopped by the gate) for the living room / dining room

• some plug hidden thingy

• a fireplace guard which is the uggliest thing there's on the market

fizzy Do keep things you don't want to break out of reach though and dangerous things. With DD1 she had lower cupboards she could open, with plastic things and tupperware...she could play with and a cupboard she wasn't allowed to touch (pans) with wasn't dangerous if she did. just to teach her. DVDs DVD players were out of reach. Books she wasn't allowed to touch but then again no risk if she did. You might have to reshuffle your bookselves and hide a few thing but I agree with the baby wishperer you have to teach them not to touch and not hiding everything, otherwise they are a nightmare when you go out!! You can't say no to everything so make sure they have their own box in the living room, bathroom and kitchen.
you will need those door stoppers so they don't catch their fingers. Best one are those half circle in foam that you put on the top side of the door. I think they were boots or mothercare. IkEA one that you put at the bottom are rubbish.
IC we agree with the naps, they need them. I saw many people in the UK stopping their kids sleeping during the day in the hope of a good night , it is very tiresome for the parents too, at least I was too lazy to even try! And you are in spain so you have to fully embrasse the siesta, ins't it?

Fizi I didn't do any babyproofing with DD1 and I'm hoping not to with DD2. She seemed to understand when I said no to her going to touch things, and didn't do it again, and I took a few halfway measures like putting a footstool in front of the fire and never putting it on when she was around. The process was helped by DD1 learning to go up and down stairs while she was still crawling, so I didn't even go for stair gates. It made things easier when we went out as DD1 seemed to know what she could and couldn't touch or explore, but it did cause problems with other people coming to me as all my mum chums had gone the whole hog and were too scared to come to my un-childproofed house. Sigh. You win some and lose others.

Had DD2 weighed today and she's fallen off the 9th percentile curve and is heading for the 2nd. I had kind of guessed as much (she just isn't drinking as much milk as she was and if I try and get more into her, she refuses or brings it back up - DD1 did the same) and am planning to try and start weaning her when she reaches 17 weeks (next week - I'm away for the next few days with both DDs so it suits me to wait!). But the HV was quite adamant that I shouldn't start with baby rice but go for purees instead. Anyone else been told this?