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...

GF sorry to hear about your chest infection and your hectic night.
I have never been to guernesey even if my dad lives at the other end of the ferry!
IC they are really proud of themself when they start moving. It is so cuuute and funny. I remember the day when DD1 started bumshuffling, she was beaming!
Gal good to hear your DD is happy again. Babies never cries for nothing, there is always a reason sometimes very difficult to find.

So I stop weaning for a day or 2 and DD went very fidgety especially when seeing us eat. I did try again puree today, and she was so excited that she was pushing the spoon in her mouth and plunging at it, she even try to suck the bowl in case it went faster... she was almost unconsollable when the 2 /3 teaspoons where gone. (well till the bottle came to the rescue) I guess she is ready then! .
She is also openning her mouth now when on my knee when I am eating. She was very excited by the lasagna I had for lunch. I might try courgettes next as in season.
What about fresh peas? anyone knows if they are considerred a veg or a bean?

Day four of living with the ILs and I can't begin to describe the fun. Before LO, their idea of helping was to actually help. On sunday when we went back to clean the house, their best way of helping was to take LO out for walks between feeds and then complain they didn't have enough time with her and could they more so they didn't have to rush back . What i really wanted to say was, well take the car then and dont walk and I'm sorry for the fact that she feeds every 2 hours. (They also keep asking me is she still feeding every 3 hours, hate to tell them that this is a best case scenario. I just blamed her slow weight gain for the 2 hour feeding - HV orders )

O.K. rant over. She gained 2oz since thursday so am very happy (though still not quite at 4.5kg). Have also realised that I have no problem with feeding her as frequently as she wants and that I was feeling external pressure to slot her into a routine. We have the same order of things: sleep/feed/play. Now though if she only sleeps for half an hour she gets fed. Before I was trying to encourage her back to sleep and get to a certain time (obviously if she wouldn't settle I would feed). I have also put on weight this week, feels like every 3 hours DH is there insisting I eat. It has been good and I feel like I have more energy. mawbroon I know dietary content doesn't effect milk but insufficient calories and lack of fluid do.

Have handed in my corrections now, so hopefully will get them approved and I can start printing. Need to get it to the binders by thursday in order to meet this summers graduation (so no pressure then).

LO had her second lot of jabs, the first of which she didn't even cry. Think she was finding her fist too fascinating to notice anything else.
As for fresh peas, technically I believe they don't contribute to your five a day (same as sweetcorn)

Sorry for the self centered post, welcome backs sent out (you know who you are, you both have my awe)

Usual speedy late night flyby...

Welcome back Galadriel - if you've caught up on the thread you will have read that i know only too well what you have been going through and send you my sympathy.

CC hope you manage the whole stay without any major bust-ups - it all sounds a bit trying.

Another day of DS1 vomiting here today -just when I thought things were going to improve. Took him to the GP who thinks he is not coping with the mucus from his cold. This suggests that it could go on for days or weeks and I'm not quite sure how the hell we make any plans/deal with DS2 (and his hour long screamy reflux feeds) at the same time. Today has been my most trying as a mum in the two+ years I've been doing the 'job' and DH didn't even go to work till 10:30a.m! I don't think I have mentioned that I actually have a phobia of vomiting so it is about the worst possible thing for me to try and deal with! Another self-centred post I'm afraid - just needed a vent. Oh yes, and I trod bare-footed in DS2's sick that had rolled (unseen) off the muslin yesterday.

Yepee! A good night for us (well with the normal wake up calls during the night).

I'm wondering how I'll cope with the tiredness from next week when I'm back to work. I've realised I'll have to get up at 6am in order to get me and DS to nursery/work on time!

bethylou poor you! don't worry about self-centered or whinging post. If you're like me this thread is like my pressure cooker, it permit to release the stress, worries...

CC good luck with your in laws. Don't we love them! My MIL complains that she doesn't see DS often enough even if we told her several times to call and come home to see him. We're a small island, she lives less than 15mn away.

Welcome back, galadriel, sorry you've been having a tough time of it - lucky you with the sleep pattern, though!

Don't worry, bethylou, vent all you want. I would in your position (and in fact I do, even though I'm not in your position!) Poor you - lots of hugs heading your way.

I've got a feeling we're in 4 month sleep regression territory with DD now.She's taking longer to settle down and waking earlier - after loads of overnight awakenings. She now rejects her dummy in favour of Mummy - well, it's nice to be preferred over a piece of latex, but tough on my nipples and sleep... I took her in bed beside me last night and I think she spent the best part of four hours suckling
At least she still naps, but now she needs to be fed to sleep...

I tell you what, I hope she has a decent weight gain after all this, if nothing else (!)

BTW Did I mention the home-made baby gym? here if you want to see it in action...

Back from the GP again (3 visits in 1 week). This time, DS has got a chest infection (like his mummy!) and is on antibiotics. The only problem is that we should have his last 2 settling in sessions at nursery that I'll have to cancel as they don't take kids on the first 48 hours of antibiotics.

I'm planning to go to HV clinic on Friday to see how much DS weighs now and also his hight as apparently he's quite short..

Oh, GF, get well soon - you and DS x

GF get well to you and your DS. I hope you will both respond quickly now you are on the antibiotics and that you can sort out the problem with nursery.

Sounds like rubbish sleep again IC. I was swimming just now (after a much better day - DS1 was well today and went to the child minder for the first time in three weeks) and trying to remember when the crazy nights stopped with DS1 and I just can't remember. What I do know is, that this will all fade with time, we will get through the busy nights and at some point will get almost unbroken sleep again. And of course, the DCs are worth it aren't they? (Can you tell how much better I feel today?!)

New porch went up today in pouring rain (with exposed electric meters and fuse box ) and now just need a wall skimmmed and a permanent roof put up to get it finished. Rather enjoyed seeing the rather fit 'guard' who sat outside for an hour at lunchtime while his mates went to get supplies - there have to be some highlights to my week!!

Supposed to be watching a programme with DH at the mo so will go and apply myself!

Hi everyone . Hats off to you Insanity. Four children under four - wow.

galadriel best of luck with the BF, it sounds like your DD is doing fine, and thank heavens for you that she is such a good little sleeper.

I feel out of sorts today, I developed a headache yesterday after running uphill in the sun (late as always) but this morning I still have it, and stuffy nose too. I can't decide whether to ignore it and carry on with my day, or retreat to bed . So much to do though .

More bed-sharing last night, but I think DD and I had better kip as a result. Still not what I'd call ace sleep, but I feel fine today, so that's OK.

bethylou glad things are improving for you and you're feeling more positive. You need it!

Get well soon, fizi!

Baby massage today - we only made it for the last hour, but it was nice to get there. Some really tiny babies were in the group, including one still with umbilical chord attached! For all her petite size (for her age), DD looked huge compared with a lot of them. She cooed and gurgled her way through the session, a big change from her first time when she yelled off and on.

We've also started taking DD to an English-speaking playgroup, great for feeling less isolated and language-bound. Randomly, a former downstairs neighbour of ours turned up there - small world!

Back in the Uk just in time for the predicted BBQ summer
Still have to catch up with the last few days' posts but here first our latest news: LO had her first taste of carrot and potato today . Her facial expression was priceless - I wish I had filmed it. She gave me a look of amused surprise, then licked a bit more off the spoon, then raised her eyebrows, then smiled. Seriously cute. She also ate more than I expected (about four teaspoons - and that was on top of a 7oz bottle of milk).
She's only 18 wks but like her big sister at the same age, she is drinking five 7oz (220ml) bottles of milk a day and is shouting for more, but can't physically keep down more liquid. She's also started waking up in the night after sleeping through from 6 weeks old. To me that says she's ready.. Obviously anything at the moment is just a taster until she's a little older, but still, we are off...

Oh, and absolutely no sign of rolling here... But when I put her in her cot in the recommended position at the foot end, she likes to wriggle her way up (in her sleeping bag!) until she's reached her favourite sleeping position at the top left end... collecting her cuddly bear on the way

bit of a brain dump now I actually have a reasonable internet connection, sorry

• feel for you with refluxy babies... dd2 brings up a lot but it does not seem to bother her. dd1 did the same, so I had about 40 muslin cloths ready and waiting when dd2 was born...
• hats off to those of you still bf. Wish I'd managed to get beyond the cracked and bleeding nipples..
• I think my abdomen is beyond re-educating after two children Muffin (top) and jelly (belly) are my lot now. .Oddly, I have no extra weight to lose, so it's just a problem of flabby bits..
• Last words on inlaws... My mum babysat for a few hours and managed to get DD2 feeding and sleeping like a newborn (ie., every hour or so). I think she just liked holding and feeding her.. I bit my tongue because we have no family in the Uk and having babysitting on tap is a rare treat..

Huh? Where is everyone gone?
We are on day two of veg puree and had lots of raised eyebrows and a running commentary from dd2 (possible translation: this is different but I think I like it! . She's now very vocal and includes a little pretend cough to get attention - probably inspired by my very real cough. The first time she heard me she looked totally shocked because she had not heard her mummy makes such strange barking sounds before

Not much new here. ds2 is feeding like crazy, guess it must be a growth spurt ( he is 14.5 weeks). Fortunately he is quite a speedy feeder, so it doesn't take to long to fit the extra feeds in.

DS1 has hand, foot and mouth (but only has the mouth bit!) so we have been housebound for the last couple of days, but he's out on his bike now, so must be feeling a lot better.

We had plans to all go swimming this weekend, but will have to cancel because ds1 is ill. Shame. i hadn't planned to take ds2 until he was on solids (method in my madness here - I would hate an exploding breastmilk nappy in the pool!!) but decided that we should just go for it. DS1 has been once in about the last 6 months what with illness and broken ankle and new baby....

Hope everyone is fine.

We're slowly getting better (DS is anyway).

I can't believe I'm due back to work on Monday!!!

We're having a feeding franzy here too and a very bad sleeping patter n at bed time. It's probably due to DS napping a lot during the day (why now and not when he was tiny and I needed to sleep during the day? ).

I'm fed up with the dummy issues during the night... I want to try the same technic as you did IC but I can't face seating by his cot at night waiting for him to be lightly asleep to remove the dummy. I want to sleeeeeeeep

GF Hope you are getting better. Sounds awful to be ill and tired and having to start work so soon. Keeping my fingers crossed it all goes well on Monday!

Get well soon GF and DS. And best of luck with work on Monday. Ugh ugh ugh for you .

BG I'm here! Another exciting Friday night on mumsnet in front of the telly.

mawbroon what is hand, foot and mouth? Re swimming, have you got a happy nappy? I went to my first baby swimming class today and they go over a disp swimming nappy, like a mini wet suit, sure they'd contain even exploding BM poo!

Hope everyone has fun in the sun tomorrow. I think we're going to spend most of the day in the car again. Why, why, why

Mawbroon I've had hand, foot and mouth (and also just in the mouth) and it was horribly painful so feel very sorry for your DS1.

BG we're about to start weaning too when I get round to it as the paediatricain we saw said that it should help the reflux (or at least make it more interesting colours?!) DS2 now weighs 18lbs so I have no concerns about his size etc.. I just have bad memories of long evenings spent trying to puree lots of unwilling fruits and vegetables and ending up in a terrible mess with a blender that admitted defeat and started smelling of burning!!

p.s. finally went out on my own this pm while DH had the DSs for 4 hours. I had to buy something to wear for a wedding tomorrow that could enable me to feed DS2 in. I enjoyed carrying a handbag, rather than a change bag, and also using stairs not lifts. Just had the credit card for company-bliss!!

fizi same here Mind you I am quite happy on the sofa after two weeks staying with family (lovely but stressful)

bethylou I also was allowed to shop on my own but flagged after an hour because of a stinking cold... So I went and got an ice cream instead Also seem to have a blind spot at the moment for clothes for me and inevitably come back with cute baby/toddler clothes for dd1/2

Happy Saturday to all!

I'm hanging out with DD quietly in the lounge while DH has a lie-in. A friend of his is staying and they were out quite late last night. My Friday night was even more exciting than most of yours - I went to bed early (!)

DD still waking up loads at night, but combination of bed-sharing and a little judicious dummy use to resettle her is making it bearable. She was totally refusing the dummy for a few days, but when I stealthily replace my nipple with the dummy, then put her down, she seems to accept it for settling and usually spits it out after 5 mins or so. This is how I want dummy use to remain, if possible!
GF the removal thing took a lot of patience and repeated attempts, but because DD basically sleeps beside me, even when she's not in the same bed, I did a lot of it by sleepily putting a hand out to take it from her while lying in bed myself, no getting up involved. Sometimes I fell asleep before I did it, though!

I'm hoping this pattern of a few minutes of dummy for settling will continue without it becoming a full-blown addiction again, but DD is excellent at frustrating my best laid plans for her (and my) welfare (!)

GF - don't envy you going back to work. Although there are moments when I want to climb the walls, I'd still rather be a SAHM for the time being (and somewhat impoverished...)

Hope DS1 gets better soon mawbroon - I remember my sisters getting H,F&M - not much fun. Ulcers in the mouth and a rash type thing on hands and feet, IIRR?
Out of interest, are you BF him (and indeed DS2) until he self-weans, or do you have a deadline in mind?

Nice to have you back BG - good luck with the weaning - likewise bethylou.
What luxury having a clothes shopping trip! I managed to buy a pair of shoes for a wedding with DD in the sling, which I was quite pleased about. Luckily the shop assistants didn't mind taking my shoes on and off while I stood there and let them dance attendance

Morning all,

H is just heading out to a mates to watch the England Rugby Game, followed by an afternoon boozing on the river, then to the pub for the England Football game. He's going to kip over at the boys place so he doesn't have to fork out for a Taxi home after the copious amounts of booze that will be drunk today (probably a good thing as I can't stand the post beer snoring!!).

So I find myself at home with 3 children wondering quite how that happened! If I tried to sod off for the day there would be mayhem! I don't really mind him going off - I'm just jealous that I don't get to do the same thing without 4 weeks of planning and organising activities and food for the kids. Oh.......and I couldn't anyway as I'm feeding!

............well, I didn't mind until 5 minutes ago when he said, walking out of the door; "the dog needs to be taken for a walk, see you tomorrow". Cue 5 minutes of shouting from me about why couldn't he do it before he left/selfish bastard/I have to take the kids to the school/village fete, and fit in feeds and naps for a 4 month old. Apparently I should "want" to get out with the kids! What does he thing the fete is!!

............and breathe.....................

Sorry guys - caught me at a funny time! Men are like having another child sometimes!

Back to the proper subject - babies! Bethylou - I weaned DD1 at 18 weeks as the doc said it would help the reflux - I hate to tell you that it made absolutely no difference at all! Instead of having lovely pale milk to clean up we now had orange sick from the carrot and butternut squash and sweet potato - all of her clothes turned orange around the neck! So I think I'm going to try to hold off closer to 5 months to wean DD3 - I think that's when I weaned DD2. Problem is that we are in France then and I'm not sure if I can be arsed to wean while we're on holiday so it might end up closer to 6 months. So unless she shows signs of really needing it before then she can wait. I was very keen to wean the first time around, a bit keen with DD2 and now I just can't be bothered - too much hassle!

BabyGiraffes - I know what you mean about the cough. I've also got one at the moment and it's a pain. Every time I cough while feeding she yanks off my boob and stares at me! I'm not surprised though - it's bloody loud - she must wonder what the hell is going on!!

Morning...
galadriel I won't even start on what I think of dh's need for 'me' time... when I am lucky to fit a shower in! Just to say I understand...

Anyone with more than one dc also feel guilty all the time? I have little recollection of dd1 at four months because I was struggling with really nasty post natal depression. So now I feel guilty that I feel so much closer to dd2. But then I feel guilty that dd2 is getting so much less one to one attention from me because I am too busy keeping dd1 in check (she's going through a seriously challenging phase).... Surely one guilt should cancel the other out??