May 2017 Mummies

[BettyHoop]

Lol Emily!

Daisy has never slept through, she still wakes the same amount of times a night - 3 or 4 - but she is more wide awake and it takes about an hour to get her back to sleep. She's up super early now too, usually around 5am. She also fights day naps. We did manage a good routine for a while but the last couple of weeks it's been a bit more unsettled, I'm assuming it's due to sleep regression, if this is as bad as it gets I'll count myself fairly lucky xx

 

[kabuk1]

Aidan only had 2 naps today. 2 long naps. He just woke from his 2nd a little bit ago. He slept 1.5hr this morning and then 2-2.5 hrs for his second. I so much prefer the 2 long naps to the 3-4 short naps. I wonder if he'll continue this. Then I can aim for the 2-3-4 sleep timings. 1st nap 2hrs after waking in the morning. 2nd nap 3hrs after waking from his 1st. Bedtime 4hrs after waking from his 2nd nap. We'll see. That's my aim for when he hits 6 months. Maybe he'll surprise me. The only thing is getting him to sleep- that can take a bit of time.

 

[Rachel82]

Harper missed her long morning nap cos we met a friend for coffee. She had a late afternoon nap but getting her to sleep tonight is proving difficult. I think her gums are hurting her. She's definitely teething.
Although I hate to think of our babies struggling with sleep, it is reassuring to know that other people are experiencing the same. Now we just need them all to settle back into good sleeping patterns.

 

[lisey]

Do you know, I think it must be a myth that babies sleep through by the time they are 6 weeks or 3 months or whatever it is they say. I go to quite a few baby groups and only one baby out of all the ones I have spoken about sleeps through, the rest wake several times night.
I am trying to accept that I will never have a good nights sleep ever again...being dramatic lol. I am really feeling tired and it is certainly catching up on me. I do think that when she is in a lighter sleep that OH's snoring is waking her, he snores all night!
My OH has gained alot of weight since I got with him and I am not one of those people that says "I will love you no matter how fat you get", I do of course still love him but I don't find it attractive. I made sure I lost my baby weight quickly and although I want to lose more, I am a size 12 so fine really. I want him to lose the weight mostly because he has high blood pressure and high cholesterol as it is and I am worried he will have a heart attack! It is also making his snoring worse. I don't know how to address it really, he is quite sensitive. I have suggested we eat healthily together but he lasts one day before picking at the crisps and goodies. Any suggestions? I have skirted around it but wonder if I need to be more forward and blunt, I don't want to hurt his feelings xx

 

[Rachel82]

Lisey, does the weight gain bother your OH or is he ok with it? I would be concerned if the weight gain is enough to start causing health problems and I also agree with you regarding weight gain and finding someone attractive.
Is he stressed about anything or feeling depressed? Is he comfort eating do you think? It's so difficult because you love him and obviously don't want to hurt him but maybe you need to broach the topic and say that you're concerned and that you don't want him to risk his health and you want him to be healthy and fit for the future when your LO is active and running about etc.

 

[Emily0505]

I think you're right Lisey. Eleanor doesn't wake for food in the night but she wakes up and needs to be resettled again - normally in mummy and daddy's bed! Lol!

I defrosted my expressed milk stash yesterday as I'd filled all my pots. 10 oz of mummy's milk!! It only took 42 days but still!! I gave her 5oz of my milk at bedtime through the SNS and it was like proper bf!! A whole meal of booby milk at the breast!!

Lisey do you do the food shop? Maybe try buying less of the bad stuff? Could you make healthier treats? Slimming world have loads of recipes and they're really tasty!

XX

 

[kabuk1]

lisey, it's very common for babies to not sleep through the night, and this can continue until they are 2-3 years old. But one of the things you have to remember about sleeping through, is that what's really being said is that the baby sleeps a solid 5-6 hours, so essentially, at least one wake in the night. Aidan wakes and chows down, but I think a big part of that is that he isn't eating as much during the day. I continually try and offer about every 1-2 hours, sometimes he'll have a short snack, other times he'll get annoyed and bat it away. Whilst I would love an entire night of no wake ups, I'd happily take 1 or 2 wake ups. At least then I can get my 4 hour blocks in.

As for the gaining weight thing, it's a hard one. I put on a lot of weight after I left the States. I first moved to Dublin and the weather and my job got to me. Then we moved to London and I was happier and lost some weight, but then I started teaching and went to the pub every Friday for 'one' pint, which of course turned into 3 plus snacks. I was still active, but only playing hockey twice a week. I got sick of it myself and finally went all in. You can push, but in the end he has to be motivated. A good friend of mine was severely overweight. It took him to have the scare of his life before he changes. He was massive and is now very thin, fit and healthy. It's amazing what just a change in diet will do. Hope you find a solution.

 

[lisey]

I think it does bother him, he jokes about it and I have noticed he is opting for joggers rather than jeans as obv more comfy. I have said i want him to eat healthily as I am concerned for his health but he fobs it off. He does the food shop at the moment and often pops to the shops in the eve to get munchies. Will have chips or pizza sometimes for lunch at work and have big meal at home too.
He's not depressed or stressed, I think he has just got comfortable if you know what I mean.
You're right about the wretch of sleep Kabuk, she was doing well with a 5, sometimes 6 hour stretch but it's back to waking 3 or 4 times! I am drinking lots of coffee to function xx

 

[Emily0505]

I want to lose a bit more weight and deffo need to tone up but I'm just so unmotivated it's unreal! I'm a size 12 now and was an ,8-10 pre pregnancy so it probably wouldn't take much I'm just really lacking in willpower! Lol!

I'm definitely snacking less of an evening during the week but I do still have a bar of choccie over the weekend and I'm walking my son to school more often too rather than driving. I'm sure it'll help a bit but what I really need to do is try and exercise. There's so many exercise videos on YouTube there's really no excuse for me not to do it. Well except for the fact that my daughter is currently fast asleep on my lap!

XX

 

[Rachel82]

Harper is definitely teething. She is producing so much saliva and drooling loads. I can tell she's in discomfort too so using the dentinox gel. I also have some teething powder that I've used a couple of times. She's started being sick quite a bit after feeds again the last few days. Not sure if it's related to the excess saliva that she's producing.

 

[kabuk1]

Rachel, Aidan was never one to get sick after feeds, never more than just any excess that wasn't needed, but since he started teething, he's been vomiting more. He did this when he was congested too, as he had excess snot. As he seems just fine and no fever, I'm putting it down to excess saliva and at times it's him sticking his fingers a little too far down his throat.

Started weaning and Aidan is defo ready. I got some Ella's baby rice and he is loving it. He was reaching out and grabbing the spoon with my hand in it and pulling it towards his mouth. I put it at the front of his mouth and he has no problem moving it to the back and swallowing. I bf him first and then give him 30-40 mins before feeding him the rice. That way I know he's filling up on milk and not the food. Going to introduce some purees this week and change it up. He's been eating an hour before bath, but I may make it his lunch. I'll keep it to once a day until he's 6 months and then go twice a day and introduce some baby led weaning. He is so cute as he gets so excited when the food is coming.

 

[Rachel82]

Yeah I definitely think it's the excess saliva. Harper also shoves her fingers in her mouth and occasionally gags on them.
Sounds like Aiden is totally ready for those solids then! I'm looking forward to weaning Harper. I'm getting some baby rice in next week's shop and also getting some pots and spoons from Amazon so I'm all prepared. I don't know whether to get a cheap steamer for veg and fruit for purees.

 

[kabuk1]

I'm going to get a steamer for when he reaches 6 months. For now, a small Ella's Kitchen pack lasts 3 days, so I'm just going to use those to introduce him to flavours for now. Of course the rice too. He only has solid once a day and it's a small portion. He's had parsnips now. He eats them but doesn't seem as keen. They say to give it 8 to 10 times before ruling it out as something he doesn't like. He has one day left of it. Then we'll move onto sweet potatoes and then carrots. That's all the veggies they had the other day. We'll move onto fruit from there. What I've read suggests starting with veggies before fruits to help build a taste for them and if you start with fruit, they like the sweet. Starting with individual items helps them to build a taste for it too. That's the theory anyway. We'll move onto some mixed things from there. At 6 months I'll start more baby led weaning, steaming veggies and just putting them on his tray. I may make my own purees or may continue with Ella's for the time being. I'll also give porridge and rice. I do want to get to the point where he can just eat what we eat, so no cooking with salt or sugar, not that I do.

Guess what he's eating in each of these pics?

 

[snowbee]

My sister bought me a steamer for my birthday this week, so we are getting ready to go. I can't believe he will be 6 months old so soon eek, where has that time gone. I've also booked onto the weaning clinic they offer in this area, so that should be interesting and help me decide on a few things.

Teething is in full swing here, no teeth yet but he can feel them I'm sure. He gets very cross about them at times. I'm using the gel when he is bothered by them but he isn't that interested in chewing anything other than his hand or someone else. He bit my thigh this morning!

 

[kabuk1]

Aidan prefers body parts too, but he does chew on all his toys as well. He chomps on my collar bone, and that hurts. We can see his bottom teeth under the gum and his gum has thinned, so I suspect we'll see at his bottom teeth break through within the next 2 weeks. This morning was a n early morning out, so much so I got everything ready last night. It's usually packing his things that makes me late, but not this time. Of course when I'm completely ready Aidan decides to throw me a whammy. I had him in his jacket and everything. I decided to give him some medicine for his teeth as the gel didn't help much, but he decided he was just going to let it sit in his mouth. Of course he then inhaled and joked on it and then vomited everywhere- his jack, jeans, socks, highchair, and floor. So it was a quick change before heading off and waking my dw to clean up the mess. These little ones love to keep you on your toes.

Aidan participated in his second research project at Birkbeck's Babylab. He wasn't too fussed by the cap.

 

[Rachel82]

Oh no, Kabuk, how do they always seem to time it to perfection?
I'm struggling to get milk down Harper today. She's only had about 250ml all day. She'll drink some and then just messes with the teat and won't take any more. I lifted her to wind her when she was having her last bottle and she projectile vomited over my shoulder. I'm putting it down to teething and excess saliva but if it carries on I might take her to the doctors to make sure it isn't something else.

 

[BettyHoop]

I hope harper is OK Rachel.

Kabuk what is the research for?

So I had a bleed at the weekend. It's pretty much stopped now but I did a test and I'm not pregnant any more. I'm quite sad but it's definitely helped me decide that despite how hard it's been getting daisy here I do want another child. It's been a bit of a roller coaster! I wonder if I had a false positive but I know that's rare.

I'm really enjoying daisy these days. I can't believe I ever struggled. It's strange, time is going so fast. Her reflux is so much better, it can be a big problem for some for a lot longer so I'm considering myself lucky. I love her gummy smiles and her giggles. I love how she reaches for me for cuddles. She's so interactive now. We have conversations (obviously not words yet!) and she loves going away on holiday. She now holds her own bottle of milk and she's started on rusks too. She occasionally has a bit of pureed apple or sweet potato too. She sits unaided and stands unaided holding onto the sofa or me, and she took some steps at the weekend!

For the last 5 nights she's been sleeping well- she'll sleep from 9pm until about 4/5am when she wakes for a feed and then goes back to sleep until 7am. Before this she was really unsettled at night and would have at least three feeds before 5am. Will this last?! I feel like she's just been through a growth spurt and sleep regression and maybe we've come out the other side relatively quickly and unscathed! Xx

 

[Emily0505]

Sorry to hear of your loss hun. Hope you're doing OK.

I'm so glad that you're finding things easier with Daisy and enjoying mummyhood. Such a clever girl to sit unaided! I've been working with Eleanor on this for the last couple of days to help get her ready for weaning but she's still got a ways to go! Lol! It's not helped by the fact that all she wants to do is stand up all the time!

Has everyone started weaning already? Eleanor is only just moving onto 7 oz bottles and even then she very rarely finishes them. I'm going to get her weighed on Wednesday. She was 13lb last time she was weighed.

XX

 

[Rachel82]

I'm sorry Betty. Glad to hear that you're enjoying motherhood now though.
Emily, I haven't started weaning yet. Harper is 20 weeks tomorrow. Thought I'd wait until she's 5 months and give it a go.
She drained her bottle before bed last night but had another night of her kicking and being restless but not totally waking up. Woke me up though. I don't know whether it's time to move her to her own room but not sure I'm ready for that yet. Anyway she only drank 100ml of her milk this morning and then projectile vomited. It's making me a bit worried really.

 

[Dovekie]

Rachel, Owen is doing the same with his bottle. Chewing the teat and being a bit fussy, although he is drinking plenty.

So I had a bleed at the weekend. It's pretty much stopped now but I did a test and I'm not pregnant any more. I'm quite sad but it's definitely helped me decide that despite how hard it's been getting daisy here I do want another child. It's been a bit of a roller coaster! I wonder if I had a false positive but I know that's rare.

I'm really enjoying daisy these days. I can't believe I ever struggled. It's strange, time is going so fast. Her reflux is so much better, it can be a big problem for some for a lot longer so I'm considering myself lucky. I love her gummy smiles and her giggles. I love how she reaches for me for cuddles. She's so interactive now. We have conversations (obviously not words yet!) and she loves going away on holiday. She now holds her own bottle of milk and she's started on rusks too. She occasionally has a bit of pureed apple or sweet potato too. She sits unaided and stands unaided holding onto the sofa or me, and she took some steps at the weekend!

For the last 5 nights she's been sleeping well- she'll sleep from 9pm until about 4/5am when she wakes for a feed and then goes back to sleep until 7am. Before this she was really unsettled at night and would have at least three feeds before 5am. Will this last?! I feel like she's just been through a growth spurt and sleep regression and maybe we've come out the other side relatively quickly and unscathed! Xx

Wooaa.... you were pregnant again?! Sorry to hear you've lost it. I actually think I would consider another one, if I was in a very secure, loving relationship.

I'm enjoying Owen now too! I love him so much. We're really bonding nicely. His smiles are insanely cute. He recognises me now and gives me a huge smile if I've been away from him. He's nowhere near standing yet. His neck is strong and he sits up if I balance him. He's rolled onto his side but can't quite get all the way over. It's fascinating watching them.

Owen is sleeping the same as Daisy, it seems. Usually for 6-7 hours from 8/9pm, then feeds, then back to bed until we get up at around 8am. For a week or two he was up 3-4 times in the night, which I guessed was the 4 month regression. We're just coming out of that now, so it's a little hit or miss what he will do. He hasn't slept in my room since he was 6 weeks old. He's been in his Sleepyhead, on the sofa. Last night I put the Sleepyhead in his cot, in his room, for the first time. He didn't realise he was in there and slept for 7 hours. He wouldn't go back down in there though, so back to the sofa! I'm sure he'll get used to it!