Dec '09 - We're learning to roll, we're learning to eat, all we need now is to learn how to sleep!

[hendo77]

New thread everyone...!

Hello everyone!
Elizabeth's sleeping is much better now, only a couple of plug-ins during the night!
Have been watching her play today and she amazes me! she has ELC's 1st shape sorter, which plays music and animal noises and she purposely bangs a shape on buttons to get them to make the noise! And she passes from one hand to the other!
She's soooooo advanced ive never seen anything like it, im contacting mensa!

Elizabeth has been drinking water from a cup for a few weeks now so she's getting quite good at it. I also use those cheapo tommee tippee ones. Jake still uses his for his water at night!
She is also very easily distracted when drinking her milk and eating her dinners. She still has a morning bottle, a 12pm bottle, a 3pm bottle, her bedtime bottle at about 6.30 and then top-up at 9ish. She drains 7oz each time!

That's very advanced ABF!!! I've just been investigating toys to get for Imogen now she's getting bigger and that one sounds great - will deffo be popping into the ELC next week to see what's there. Any other recommendations for toys?

Imogen's had about 19/20 oz in total today - but then she does still wake twice to make that up to a bit more. I only let her have a smaller amount last night for the second night feed and I'm going to try and cut that down by 1 oz every 3 days or so and see if she'll drop it eventually...

I was watching Catherine passing a bib from one hand to another this afternoon and feeling very proud too ABF

And, she's already worked out the polar bear ball rolly thing (that I won on here) and makes a very good attempt at putting the balls in the polar bears mouth. The hole is quite small though and she can't work out how to get the balls in and her fingers back out yet but she's getting there.

They're amazing our kids aren't they

Hi everyone am still here but like one or two others spending my time chasing my boy around......play pen assembled the other day when I realised that ds appearing stood up holding onto sofa was not a one off. Thing is he keeps forgetting he can't walk and we have had some dramatic falls but now he has done it so many times he doesn't even whimper! We have the tome tipped cups but night a few others before he got the hang of the cheapest one. He now has abit of milk in it on a mid.ingwith breakfast as I am sure bf him can only be an ounce or two.....still haven't let go of that morning feed! Xxxxx

VTech Peekaboo Sunny Face
Cant seem to find it on our website but we do do it! On the end of each fabric bit is a button which can activate either songs or shapes/colours, but the real clever bit is that they are also magnetised so when baby touches one of the ends to the plastic middle bit that also activates it! (Ive used sooo much non-technical jargon there ive astounded myself, really need to get back to work!)

Thanks! All those toys look great, I'm quite excited about going toy shopping this morning. Just waiting for all the shops to open. I'm sure I never used to think they opened really late on a Sunday before having Imogen!!!!

that's the shape sorter thing I was on about

This one is good but quite expensive for what it is, I got lizzys from a charity shop for £1.50!

This one is excellent for hand eye coordination with a good reward system

This is making me want to go toy shopping! Have fun. If you go in ELC/Mothercare make em work!

Thanks ABF! We've got the triangle one second hand from someone which she loves, but it's the only thing we have that is a bit more for bigger babies. Both those others look great so off to the ELC in half an hour...

We bought the 1st shape sorter, a blow up beach ball, a drum, some stacking cups and a nursery rhyme book.

My sister is in labour. I'll be an aunty again very soon

First baby on my side of the family too (except my own obviously) All of my other nieces and nephews are in-laws. I love them to bits but I'm wondering if it's going to be different when we share some DNA?

Oooooh how exciting for you Al! Hope all goes well for your sister.

I'm an Aunty for the first time! (Must be something in the air Al!!!). DH's twin brother and his wife had a little baby boy this morning. It's quite nice as there's now a little baby girl and boy in the family.

Hi everyone, haven't been on for ages. Hope all you lovely ladies are doing well. I'm back at work now, which is going fine. We have won the battle of the bottle, but Conrad's still not very keen on formula which is a shame as my supplies feel like are running out.

Title of thread covers salient points of Conrad's life exactly. I think our disturbed nights are due to him trying to practise crawling, but if it's not one thing (cold, teeth, heat), it's another, so unfortunately we haven't got a good pattern of sleep to get back to. Don't think he's spent a single whole night in his cot yet. I would LOVE a decent night's sleep!

My sister is taking her time! She was induced yesterday afternoon but is still going now!! She had a pessary which they removed because it was making the contractions stronger but not helping her dilate and now she has a drip as the contractions all but stopped overnight. BIL says baby is expected to make an appearance this evening sometime.

BlueChampagne - your nights sound like mine! We've just finally got back to a consistent two wakings and feeds between bedtime and morning but when those might be are anyone's guess. I tried to phase the second one out by offering water instead but Imogen went absolutely mental to I think I'll leave that for another time! It's always good to have something to blame wakings on though I find... keeps me sane.

Any news Al? After my SIL I seem to be very excited for you and your sister who I haven't even met!!!

Nothing yet. Baby is not expected until much later tonight or even tomorrow morning now!!

I've had a crappy day and am very ashamed of myself. Catherine has been super clingy all day (even more than normal) and by about 5.30, I lost the plot completely! Not in a shouty way just in a coping way.

It's been a long day. We went shopping this morning to try and buy me some clothes for our holiday which is only 2 and a half weeks away now but because Catherine was objecting to being put down, she just screamed and screamed in her buggy until I gave up and walked out of the changing room and the shop so I bought nothing. She fell asleep for about 20 minutes and I managed to buy a beach dress and some stuff for Alex but basically, I've still got nothing for me and nothing I already have fits any more as it's either pre-pregnancy and too small or maternity and too big.

Alex was an angel all morning so I treated him to an ice-cream and then went to buy him some shoes. Could have cried in the shop when he refused to look at, talk to or walk for the fitting lady! No idea what went wrong, he just super stropped all of a sudden. It took so long to sort them out because he wasn't co-operating, that by the time I got back to the car we had a ticket!

Came home and had lunch and I've pretty much been carrying Catherine ever since. It's hot, my shoulders ache and I needed to get on with dinner but because she kept crying and I kept picking her up to try and calm her, I forgot to cook the potatoes and couldn't sort out the veg. So, by the time we got to 5.30 (half an hour after dinner time) we had lamb and nothing else.

So I put her down and left her to cry Couldn't even finish dinner cause I was so upset but I just felt so claustrophobic and hot and achey and just needed not to be holding her for a little while. I'd put her somewhere safe with toys but she just screamed. As soon as DH walked through the door at 5.45, I went out and sat in the park outside our house for 10 minutes to calm down.

I refused to hold her gain until I had to feed her at 7 before bed.

I had a friend over at the weekend who said she understands now why I'm always saying I can't leave Catherine. She will not be held by anyone but me or DH and if it's in anyway a stressful or new situation, then it has to be me. So swimming - has to be me. PIL's party yesterday with lots of new people - has to be me. Out shopping - has to be me. She'll only really let him hold her if we're at home. MIL is upset cause she won't go to her. SIL's are upset cause she won't go to them. She won't go to my Mum, to my sisters and brother, to any of our friends!!

I don't know what I've done wrong this time! She should be better bonded than Alex was as we've BF for longer and co-slept which I never did with him, but she's worse. Its not enough to be in the same room as her, it has to be in my arms or she screams. I think the shopping upset me cause I know there's no way round it. I can't leave her with anyone while I go because she would just scream - babysitting is impossible!

I love her completely but I'm feeling very trapped at the moment and very ashamed that having this little person love me so much is making me feel quite depressed.

Probably sound like an awful mother now but I really needed to get that off my chest.

Oh, Al .

How you are feeling is perfectly reasonable. It should be marvellous to have this little person who loves you sooo dearly but actually it's bloody hard work and annoying some of the time.
Your shopping experience sounds at bit like mine when ds was going through a growth spurt and I couldn't put him down/stop feeding him for long enough to try on a pair of shoes. I was nearly in tears in the shops.
Not sure what to say really other than that you haven't dome anything wrong, she is just a different little person to your ds. Gradually this will pass and you will feel less frustrated, or at least this will frustrate you less, something else will probably frustrate you then as is the nature of motherhood I think. Maybe things will be a little better once she can crawl and has some independence that she can control iyswm??

Hop that your sis has her baby tonight, you must post and tell us all when she does .

Congrats to hendo's sil too .

Thanks LaDiDaDi.

Al I second everything LaDiDaDi said, I never would have been able to put it that eloquently. You definitely haven't done anything wrong and you definitely don't sound like an awful mother. That feeling of being trapped is horrible, until a few weeks ago when Imogen finally started taking the bottle I couldn't imagine a night out and used to get really upset about it and then feel guilty for feeling that way. I also imagine the heat and worrying about your sister would also have added to the stress of your day.

I think going to sit in the park sounds like a very good idea, do you think if you went out for a short while like that each night and left her with your dh for a short time every evening she would get better at being with him? I have no idea if that would either be feasible or work or not though just wanted to try and offer something to help... although a large glass of wine and some chocolate may be a better suggestion? (for you obviously not Catherine!!!)

Thanks guys. I've been trying to give Catherine to DH more often when he's home and that has helped in that she will now go to him when we're at home but it still has to be me when we're out and obviously while DH is at work and she won't go to anyone else at all.

I know it should be lovely and I know I will miss it when she gets to the Daddy stage they all have and doesn't want me but today it was hot and I was aching from carrying her and the house was is a complete tip and I wanted to make dinner and I couldn't do anything but hold her or be screamed at and it all just got a bit much

She's sleeping now and I've had a toasted bagel and a huge slice of pavlova for dinner and I feel a bit better

And I have a brand new (and currently name-less) niece born at 8.37

Woohoo!!!! Congratulations Aunty Al!

My nephew is also nameless, it must be the thing to do for July babies!!!!

Under 8 stone?!?!?! I don't think I've weighed that since I was about 10 years old... I am very impressed Lee, well done you!

Imogen has been trying to sit up from lying on her front for the last few days. Today she managed to get sort of to sitting up but was unable to push herself right up to take both hands off the floor, but tried all day long. About an hour ago I heard her crying, left it a few minutes but it wasn't stopping so went up to resettle her to find her sitting bolt upright in the middle of her cotbed with the sad lip face on looking quite confused!!!! I have no idea if she woke up then sat up, or if she sat up in her sleep them woke up but it really made me giggle which didn't help with the resettling...!!! I hope she doesn't do this in her sleep all night!!!!