Due Dec 2023 - part 6

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Follow-on from part 5 heading into delivery and motherhood.

@Srs12 not impossible, harder lol im sort of in the same boat, my dd is fed to sleep, and is up alot in the night she is ebf so obviously i am the only one who can get her to sleep, after Christmas/new year i will be weaning her off the breast (she has started biting and i have teeth marks on my nipples, time to stop lol) so will definitely have a few screamy, crying, tiring nights, im hoping a few nights and she will break the feed to sleep association, will be same for the rock to sleep association, pop in cot awake, and be there to reassure and soothe and wait it out is my plan, i will probably be a sobbing mess right along with her haha xx

@Avie29 good luck with the weaning off the breast! Yes I’m hoping to start trying to break the association too but at the moment I’m just happy if he sleeps with him being a bit under the weather. I’ve tried putting him in his cot and sitting with him/rubbing his back before but he just stands up and screams then eventually stops but won’t sleep for hours after even if I try rocking him 🙈 dreading trying again but I know it will be easier in the long run. The problem is he won’t lie down or stay lying down while he’s still awake or half awake, he won’t even lie in my arms unless fast asleep so maybe I’ll start there 🤔. Xx

My little girl is the same, unless she is on the breast she won’t stay still long enough to fall asleep lol no idea how im gonna get her to stay lied down and sleep, i think its going to be a few exhausting nights for both of us 😞.
on a positive note i have finally finished Christmas shopping (late, i know but my DS 12 has been very hard to think of presents for this year lol 😮‍💨) now i just have to wrap them all n hope OH doesn’t go “i think we need more” at the last minute- he does every year 🤦🏻‍♀️ lol xx

@Avie29 you're beating me - I'm only half done 😂 I need to find something for little man to buy my husband too as a first Christmas as his daddy present - it's been hard to find something lol. I've still got a few other bits to get family members too 🙈 I love wrapping - but hate it when I don't have the time for it lol

@Srs12 my little one needs held to sleep, thankfully for the most part, pop him in his sleeping bag, give him a muslin and pop his music on and he'll go to sleep with a little rocking or walking within 5-10 mins. I can't sleep train as our living arrangement just now won't work, I've tried, he's managed a couple of times only. I might start with the nighttime sleeps now he's more settled and not fighting them. But most of the time he falls asleep on the bottle for his night sleep 🙈

ive managed to wrap 26 presents so far while baby was napping and kids at school on friday so ive made a start lol, evening’s are more difficult as DD 14 bedtime is 9:30 and im too tired by then haha I’ve finished shopping for the kids but yea still need couple for OH and one for my dad and one for OH brother, so tired of thinking of things to buy but atleast the kids are sorted 😮‍💨 lol xx

@Srs12 @Srs12 my LO also needs held/walked around to sleep. Always has been and has never gone to sleep on his own in his cot or crib! It's actually harder now that he's getting so big because he doesn't seem very comfortable and gets cross at bedtime. Lately he wants to lie on the spare bed in his room and rolls around but still has to be touching me somehow! Have you tried putting down a really soft cosy blanket on the bed or even in your arms when sitting down? I used to feel like a failure because he couldn't go to sleep himself, but these cuddles won't be here forever, and I don't actually mind holding him to sleep - it's lovely! If it works for you that's all that matters.
In saying this though I think we're also in the middle of a regression 😂 due to the fussiness at bedtime and he's also wide awake in the night for over an hour at a time 🥲 Other mums have said the 12 regression was the worst one

@Charlielechat i could have written this myself! My LO is also getting so fussy at bedtime it sometimes takes over an hour for him to sleep and when he wakes up at night he can be up for hours. He will wake up and cry whilst half asleep and the only way I can get him to stop crying is to wake him up properly 🙈. Comforting to know it’s not just us up in the night, currently holding LO in my bed trying to build up the courage to take him back to his room without waking him 😬. He woke up hysterical tonight to the point where I thought he was in pain but he’s had a bottle which has got him back to sleep, I know he’s getting too old to have bottles through the night but at the moment it’s helping us both 😅 praying this is just a regression mixed with a little bit of a winter cold from nursery.

Just before 12 months we had an AWFUL couple of weeks. Up every 30 - 60 min screaming half asleep. Awake for hours, refusing naps. It was tough but seems out other side of it now - with some amazing new cognitive skills!

@FlyingHighFlyingLow aw that sounds lovely! Love seeing them learn new things.

my baby has been through the wars the past few days thanks to becoming more mobile! She banged her head off her set of drawers which resulted in a lovely big bruised head right in time for first birthday pictures on Sunday. Then she dropped a candle (my fault, shouldn’t have left it out. It was unlit sitting on my coffee table) on her finger which has resulted in a really badly bruised finger nail!!! I’m debating whether I should take her to someone to look at as I’m worried the nail might fall off. Does anyone know if itl grow back if it does fall off?

My dd lost her fingernail when she was about 2, the classic “stop running around slamming doors or one of you are gonna get hurt” and 2 seconds later dd had her finger slammed in a door, it did grow back perfectly fine 👍🏻 xx

Oh i hope that is what is going on with my DD 🥱 dad ended up on the sofa last night to try get some sleep lol been 4 days now where she spends hours sleeping for 10 minutes and then flopping around the bed crying and then sleeping for 10 mins 😴 hope we come out of it soon xx

Yup, sounds familiar!

Hey, hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, how did everyones lo get on with the change of routine/present unwrapping etc? my DD absolutely loved it, slept for only 20 min all day so was knackered by bedtime but still wanting to keep going lol her favourite present was a xylophone (which was actually gifted to big sis (9) lol and a little black kitty teddy- we have a black cat that she excitedly screams at so figured she would like one that she could grab and play with without getting scratched lol xx

@Avie29 we are completely out of routine but ended up miserable by bedtime and not wanting to settle as a result. Not really interested in present unwrapping! More interested in winding big sister (4) up and trying to "help" build her playmobil than his own toys! Hope everyone had a lovely day

Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

I am returning to work on 6th January after having a year off on maternity with my gorgeous girl.

For those who have returned to work, please please give me some words of wisdom because the thought of it is causing me great sadness and whenever I try and start thinking about work, I immediately shift it out of my brain. Dreading it! I will miss her so much I can't even put it into words.

@chloesl1808 no words of wisdom here because that’s the date I’m also heading back! Felt positive about it until the Christmas period. Now I feel so emotional. Doesn’t help that my first day back is my girls 1yr jags! 😭 are you back full time?

Oh no, I sympathise with you!

I'm going back 3 long days. I was originally full time which was 37 hours per week but dropping to 30 hours over 3 days. How about you?

I am just trying to figure out the morning routine in my head and it all sounds so busy compared to what I've been used to this past year lol

@chloesl1808 im going back part time so lucky that way, still dreading it.

yes same! My other half’s 20 minute showers will need to be cut down lol. We’ve been used to slow mornings but I have a feeling that will change.

I went back in September using my annual leave to phased return. Right choice for me. Back at full time now which is difficult, I think 3 long days would have been ideal but just isn't doable with my job unfortunately!

It's an adjustment but now I'm back at work I enjoy it while there, and little one adores his nursery. Gets so excited when he sees the building and has the biggest smile every day. I still feel a lot of guilt but I have a mortgage and bills to pay!

I've been back since September, miss DS terribly but he's my 2nd. Between hospital with his big sister and work i feel I don't stop. Looking for new job or to reduce hours. He lifes his childminder though and we make the most of the time we get! Good luck to those returning. Set small expectations for home stuff initially whilst you try to adjust

I went back to work full time in September too. I cried in the lead up to it, but can honestly say once as I was back I had no negative feelings about it at all. It's actually a bit of a break some days 😂 DS settled so well with his childminder so I didn't have any worries that way. I'm lucky that I finish work a bit earlier too so still have time with him afterwards.

Unrelated and TMI sorry, but does anyone know if it's normal for baby's food to take a while to digest? I noticed his dinner showed up in his nappy a full 24 hours after he had it, despite having done two other 💩 before that. Just curious if he could have a digestive issue.

I’m back in 2 weeks. I felt so stressed going back with my first but it was actually really nice to feel like me (and have a tea break). The weirdest bit for me was mum guilt not at going to work and being away but not being a 100% fun when I wasn’t working. So I felt bad for time spent doing housework and getting food shop when I was off work although I was doing those things when I was on maternity. I’m equally worried about going back this time but more so in how to get everyone ready and sorted in the mornings (I’m solo a lot of the time). Also sleep has taken a real nose dive for the past 6 weeks or so which isn’t filling me with confidence about how my brain will work when I’m back at work.

Yeah the mornings will be interesting! I'm always awake and up early but it's the whole getting ready and getting out of the house by a certain EARLY time that I'm dreading!

Hi everyone, how are we all doing, are all our little ones 1 now?

How are you transitioning them from formula feeds to normal milk? My little one is still having 2 feeds and one of them is for bed so I think that will be the hardest, the other one is at some point during the day, not set times, so I think that one will be easier to switch out.