PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[fieryred33143]

Sabine-That is so exciting! I can''t wait to see pics of Jacks and Des together!! Sooo cute (P.S. I sent over the coupons already)

Erica-Glad to hear you and Leon are doing well

TDM-That''s wonderful that you get to stay home with A! I''m sure he loves it!! As for the blanket, I know that the risk of SIDS decreases significantly (don''t know by how much though) at 6 months. If you don''t feel comfortable with a blanket, have you tried a sleep sack? As for footwear, Sophia actually wears little sandals lol. It is way too hot in FL for her to be with socks, especially in her car seat. Poor girl ends up sweating so I put little sandals on her. Whenever it gets cooler (I''m guessing mid December) she''ll just wear thick socks. Uh-oh, is baby #2 bug biting you already

Hi Pandora

How are you and Daisy?

Thanks to everyone for the feeding advice. She definitely has her days/nights confused. Last night she fed at 7p, 10, 1, 4, and 7a. I am exhausted. I told MIL today to offer a bottle every 3 hours. She said that she would but what to do if she is sleeping. I told her to put the bottle against her lips to see if she engages (what I usually do with dream feeds) and if she does, pick her up and feed. I much rather she wake her (I know...never wake a sleeping baby!) so that she can get her schedule fixed than let her sleep and continue with this pattern. I''m sure in a day or two everything will be back to normal and she won''t need to wake her. She was napping from about 8am to noon which is a lot longer than she normally naps at home so I think its ok to wake her.

 

[E B]

All of your halloween costumes sound SO cute! You're making me re-think my bear idea, though it might be the best for a chillin' at home costume. If we were going to take him out, we'd do it right!

cdt- Thank you so much! I hear you about being overwhelmed- that's actually the main reason we were on the fence. Baby blues hit me hard the first few days home from the hospital.

Penelope- Happy six months, Axel!

Sabine- Will you bring back photos of your babies together in their costumes? It's so cool that you've got baby boys practically the same age.

Erica- Congrats on baby Leon!

TanDogMom- When winter comes (and it's coming!), we're going to use these if we're not still swaddling:

Halo Sleep Sacks

We got a few for baby gifts and have just been waiting to use them.

fiery- A feed every three hours sounds like it may do the trick. If it helps, every once in a while Henry wakes up a few times in the middle of the night to feed, while other nights he sleeps seven hour stretches. Sometimes they just have super hungry nights, I think. I hope she gets her days and nights figured out!

 

[Dreamer_D]

TDM we started using a blanket around 6 months, but it is knit and has lots of holes in it so I can''t imagine him suffocating

Also,for shoes he wears Robeez... do you have them in the US? They are AWESOME! Like little leather moccasins. Great for crawling!

**

Hello everyone else! Will catch up eventually! I started reading the Twilight Saga and am mid way through book 2 so I''m spending most of my time on that. Bella is a totally loser but I like the boys

I am on team Jacob

 

[Pandora II]

Hi Fiery,

Things have been a bit tough the last couple of weeks. I just don''t seem to be coping the way I was before. I get irritated with D really easily and can''t seem to concentrate when I''m playing with her. I''m also getting a bit agrophobic which doesn''t help. Mainly I think it''s just tiredness combined with DH being away a lot... I don''t know, it just all seems relentless and I can''t think ahead more than a few days or I get really stressed. My life just seems to be endless blocks of waiting for her to go to sleep and dreading her waking up. And it''s not that she is a ''bad'' baby, she''s a lovely smiley child and probably pretty easy, I just can''t cope with anything at the moment and I was getting very short tempered with her which was worrying me.

Anyway, I had a case-conference meeting with my psychiatrist and the other members of my care team. DH and Daisy were there too. I''m not very comfortable with case conferences as there are just so many people and I just feel like an object that they all discuss while I''m sitting there. So, verdict was that they think I''m getting a bit depressed as does DH so having been moved to monthly visits from weekly I''m now back to weekly again. We''re not going to fiddle with my meds at the moment, but they''re referring me to some other departments.

Some of it sounds quite nice - they''re organising my going to a mothers and babies art class where I get to paint while Daisy gets to place with other babies in the creche. It''s purely for mothers with mental health issues so I feel more comfortable with it than I might have done. Also getting sent for mother & baby psychotherapy - haven''t got a clue how it works.

So feeling quite blah about life in general at the moment

 

[PenelopeJane]

Shots today.

18 lbs 12 oz
27" long
75th %

Re: blankets, pedi said whenever they start rolling both ways and sitting up on their own it''s safe to use thin (receiving) blankets. We don''t always listen to the pedi. With almost everything baby related, trust your instincts, do what you''re comfortable with and what works for you!

 

[fieryred33143]

Pandora,

I''m not even going to pretend to know what that must be like for you but I wanted to send out some hugs. You are doing a great job taking care of Daisy. You did a great job during the pregnancy despite all of the problems you were having and are doing an even better job now.

I hope the art class provides you with a great outlet and I''m glad that you are working through everything. How do you feel about the weekly visits?

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 10/7/2009 1:41:15 PM
Author: fiery
Pandora,

I''m not even going to pretend to know what that must be like for you but I wanted to send out some hugs. You are doing a great job taking care of Daisy. You did a great job during the pregnancy despite all of the problems you were having and are doing an even better job now.

I hope the art class provides you with a great outlet and I''m glad that you are working through everything. How do you feel about the weekly visits?

Ditto this.

And although I know it probably isn''t the same thing, I want you to know that I went through a period when hunter was around 4-6 months where I felt much like you describe. He was too young to amuse himself and too old to be amused by things like swings etc and so he because THAT much more dependent on me. I also waited for him to go to sleep and dreaded him waking up at that time. Daisy is around that age now, isn''t she? I guess I am saying that your feelings may also be quite normative and are not necessarily a reflection of *you* specifically. Still, I think painting while someone else watched Daisy sounds wonderful and I hope that everything you are doing helps out.

 

[fieryred33143]

The conversation I had with MIL did absolutely nothing because she still only gave DD 2 bottles

. I''m in for a looonngg night again.

She didn''t want to wake her up. FI told her when he picked up Sophia to please wake her up tomorrow because we aren''t sleeping.

 

[cdt1101]

Pandora - I''m sorry you''re not feeling like yourself. I hope the art classes help and if you ever need to vent you know you can always come here. Hang in there

Fiery - Yeah, that sucks! I would say at this point until Sophia knows when it''s night time, that her naps shouldn''t be longer than 2 1/2 hours during the day. That was something else we did early on as well. I hope your MIL listens to you and your FI!

 

[mela lu]

Just a quickie for me, going to make dinner now.

Pandora. I echo what Fiery said that I think you''re doing a great job - grace under fire - and try not to get down on yourself. Continue taking the time and getting the care you require. I agree this is a "trying" age, since Romeo is very much at this stage too, not a newborn, not yet an infant. Hang in there.

Fiery - my condolences on this situation. It sucks, because you want her to "do her job" at sleeping during the night, but your MIL is not "doing her job" feeding her enough. I agree with everyone before me that she NEEDS to eat more during the day. I try to get 24 oz into Romeo during the day, so that he can go 12 hours at night with nadda. Keep on her! It''s kind of mandatory I''d say.

Um um um, there is SO much more but I''m hungry and going to make dinner. Romeo is asleep for the night

and he now sleeps 7pm - 7am nightly. It''s great. I feel human again.
We had his shots yesterday. He''s 14lbs and in the 50% in all categories.

I''m happy with that since that''s been his ''trend'' the whole time.

Catch up more later!

*Romeo 18 weeks*

 

[gailrmv]

THANKS ALL for the advice about shoes and blankets!!! Very helpful! I think we''re set on both counts! We now have a pair of Robeez, some heavy socks, and a fleecey sleep sack. Target has some for only $9, so if we like it, we;ll be getting more.

Pandora I''m really sorry to hear that things are tough right now. I would not pretend to know exactly how you are feeling but I wanted to offer my support. There have been many days that I have certainly not been at my best these past few months. For me the irritation is not with A but with my DH. I''m often short tempered with him when he doesn''t deserve it. OK, sometimes he does, and sometimes he doesn''t. We''re trying hard to keep from getting into patterns of arguments, but it is a real effort at times to anticipate what the other needs. A is much less fussy now - in retrospect I see that he really was a pretty difficult newborn - so he''s much easier in that regard, but he also is more mobile and needs more entertaining, which is more challenging. Anyway, just rambling on now, but trying to express my empathy for you and hoping that you are getting the support that you need from your DH and from your care team. I think it is great that you are being proactive.


Fiery Frustrating. Very frustrating. And I;m sure you don''t want to "micromanage" your MIL, but at the same time, you want her feeding your kid so you can sleep!

Mela May I just say I am jealous. A is 6 months, and still up 2x/night on average (to eat). Sometimes he sleeps in, though, so I cannot complain.

 

[robbie3982]

Hey everyone! Sorry for falling off the face of the planet for a while! I kept trying to write a post, but something would always come up and I would never end up finishing. Des would scream every time I put him down until about my last week of maternity leave.

This is my 3rd week back at work and, while it''s hard, it''s not nearly as hard as I imagined it would be. I really thought I''d just sit at my desk crying all day. Surprisingly, I''m fine while I''m at work, it''s when I''m at home and Des is only awake for a few hours that I realize how much I''m missing and get sad.

DH is still searching for a better paying job that would allow me to stay home, but he''s been looking since before we moved in March of 08, so I''m trying not to get my hopes up that it will happen anytime soon. He has an interview with a recruiter tomorrow, but it''s not for any specific position, just to talk about what he''s looking for. I''m really hoping this will help though.

I''ve peeked in every now and then to scroll through the pics (everyone''s LOs are sooooo adorable!) and I''ve gotten some updates from Sabine and Fiery as well as some people''s fbook statuses, so I''m not totally out of the loop, but I''m sure I missed a lot. I''m going to try to catch up during my "free time" at work. Is it sad that I have more free time at work than I do at home? Even though Des is only up for a few hours after I pick him up (my mom and MIL watch him while I''m at work), I still have so much to do to get ready for the next day that I feel like the only time I get any downtime at home is while we''re eating dinner. DH has been great with the adjustments we''ve had to make since Des came. He makes dinner every night, packs my lunch for the next day, cleans bottles, does dishes, etc. so that I can spend as much time with Des after work as possible.

I''m still BFing (pumping at work) and Des is not STTN so I''m trying to go to bed as early as possible since I know I''ll be up multiple times feeding him. He''s still doing 2 and 3 hour stretches. Every now and then we''ll get a 5 or 6 hour stretch, but they''re few and far between. I''m trying not to sweat it though because I really think he''ll start STTN when he''s ready and it''s not like I''m a total zombie during the day, so for now at least, this is working for us.

Des is the happiest baby I''ve ever met. He smiles all the time (MIL says DH was the same way), even when I have to wake him up in the morning to get ready. His favorite thing to do is jump (he''s been in the jumperoo for about a month now) and his least favorite thing to do is be still, lol. He hates to go in his car seat and when he''s in the car and we have to stop at a red light, he cries. He stops as soon as we start going again, lol. I think we''re in for some trouble when he''s mobile because he is going to be bouncing off the walls! It might be a while though because while he''s really good at holding his head up, he hates tummy time. He started rolling over tummy to back at 8 weeks, but stopped after a few weeks and it seems that he''s forgotten how. He also has no interest in sitting up. Whenever I try to prop him he slouches until he''s practically lying down. He even does it in the tub. He also loves to coo and babble. DH is his favorite person to talk to. Oh, and he loves to spit. I think he got the idea from watching us brush our teeth. He does it all the time now. Couple that with his drooling and there is spit just about all over him and whoever''s holding him at any given time. LOL.

Here are some pics from the last 3 months. The one on the top left is copyright Scheller Image and Design. She''s my friend who was my (and Sabine''s!) wedding photographer who came and took pics during Des''s birth.

 

[MustangGal]

Pandroa - I know Kyle also had a phase where nothing seemed to entertain him, and he wasn''t old enough to entertain himself yet. The art classes ounds like fun, and a much needed break for you as well. I hope things get better soon!

Fiery - 2 feeding during the day doesn''t sound like near enough to me either. Kyle would have 3 feedings at day-care when he was that age, and that was in an 8 hour day. Maybe tell MIL not to waker her up per say, but to offer her the bottle more often.

sabine - have a great trip to go see Robbie, you''ll have to come back with pics of the "boys" together!

PJ - thnks for the blanket info from your pedi. It''s just starting to cool off here in the desert, so I was wondering if I''d be able to use one this winter.

Mela - awesome that Romy sleeps that long! I can only get Kyle to do 10-11 hours at most, so you''re way ahead of me!

Robbie - welcome back

! I also feel I have more time at work to do things like surf the internet than I do at home. I hardly ever get near the computer on weekends, ther''s just so much more important things to do. Sounds like your DH is really helping out, that''ll make things much easier. The pictures are so cute!

Kyle is just moving so fast now, it''s hard to keep up! He''s only been crawling for 3 weeks, and he''s already started pulling himself up on anything and everything. Then this morning he was standing up hanging on to my pants, and let go and stood on his own! I''m not ready for him to be walking yet

He''s not even 8 months old (well, he will be on Monday), and it looks like he''ll be walking in a month or two.

 

[Mrs]

Hi mamas!

Pandora, I''m sorry to hear you''ve been down recently. I hope things brighten for you soon!

Sabine, that''s great that you''ll be visiting Robbie soon! Have your little ones met yet?

DD, Are you enjoying the Twilight books? I''m in the middle of book 3 right now. I completely agree that bella is a loser. I think they are terribly written but still so much fun to read. Did you know the author is Mormon? - hence the abstinence theme.

PJ, I hope the shots went okay yesterday! Sounds like he''s growing great! I can''t believe he''s crawling already!

fiery, I''m so sorry your MIL isn''t following your instructions re: feeding - that''s very frustrating!

cdt, I love your avi pic!

Mela, I''m so impressed that Romy is sleeping 12 hours for you! you are my sleep training hero!

TDM, yes, Sage and I volunteer at a local retirement home. We visit with folks at their weekly ice cream social. I just called around to different homes I found on line and asked if we could volunteer and only one of the called me back so that''s where we go. We don''t make it each week since Sage is sometimes napping then but when we do, the seniors seems to enjoy her company.

Robbie Des is so cute! I''m glad you are doing well!

Mgal, I can''t believe Kyle is already cruising and getting ready to walk! Time flies! Tanks for askin about the job hunt. I heard from my old boss last week who had some interesting news about goings on at the firm I used to work for... It sounds like they may have a need for someone like me again in the near future but it''s all up in the air so we''ll see!

erica, glad you stopped by "here" to let us know how you are!

Ebree, I think the bear hat sounds adorable! And yay for laughing babies!

nycb, how are you doing?

neat, I''m glad you''re doing well! Sounds like you have a lot going on. It''s so cute that Max and Dex like to play with each other!

Blen, did that offer on the house work out?? I hope it did!

hi

everyone else!

All''s well here. We took Sage camping for the first time last weekend and she did great. It was very cold at night so she slept with us and when she woke in the middle of the night to discover she was in bed with mom and dad she acted like she had won the lottery. It was pretty cute.

She''s been laughing a lot these days which is very fun. Still hates being on her tummy though so I don''t think she''ll crawl any time soon which is fine with me! She''s happy to sit and play with her toys which is great.

She is still enjoying solids which I have been spoon feeding her for the most part (even though I wanted to do BLW) though she struggles with the harder stools sometimes. When she gets fussy, I''m never sure if it''s constipation or teething since she''s been drooling and biting things even more lately. She is also rather attached to me and gets separation anxiety now which is rather frustrating. Even if I just leave the room to use the bathroom when she''s playing, she sometimes freaks out. And she has developed a fear for loud noises. She hates the vacuum and blow drier...

Sleeping is going okay. She has been waking up at 2/2:30 and 5 consistently though and I can''t always get her to go back to sleep at 5 which throws our whole day off.

We''re going to be in NYC for halloween and haven''t figured out what Sage will be yet.... I think her grandparents in NY will likely get her a costume. We''ll see.

We''ve joined a couple of moms groups on meetup.com and have been enjoying play dates with them recently. It''s been great to get out of the house with her more and I''ve really enjoyed getting to know some other new moms IRL.

Anyway, I hope you''re all have a great week!
Mrs

 

[fieryred33143]

Mela-I''m working on getting that info together for you.

Robbie-Des is soooo gorgeous!

MG-That''s fabulous about Kyle! What a fast learner!!

Mrs-It''s great hearing from you. How cute of Sage to enjoy sleeping with mom and dad! Best place to sleep IMO (coming from the girl that co-slept with my parents till I was 5!!)

****

I called my LC this morning and we had a long convo about Sophia''s bottles, eating habits, and her days/nights switch. Here were some take-aways and I''d like your opinion:

1. She thinks 5oz is way too much for her (she knows Sophia is 3 months). She says that I should give only 3oz with 1oz as backup in case she is really, really hungry. I told her that I was doing 5oz because we did 4oz before and FI mentioned that she stayed hungry. She said that because they eat from the bottle so quickly, it appears as though they are still hungry after but if you give them a few minutes they''ll realize they''re full. She also said they like to suck so it looks like they want more but really they''re just sucking. That kind of makes sense considering that FI plays with Sophia right after her feed and she forgets all about wanting more.

I''m going to send 3oz bottles tomorrow with a couple of 1oz bags and see how it goes. The only thing that worries me a little is that I think with 3oz, she may not sleep that long at night but we''ll see how it goes. She also recommended Breast flow bottles because babies have to work harder at getting the milk so they eat properly.

2. She says that the day/night thing is normal now that I''m back at work. Her exact quote was "babies are not stupid. She knows mommy is home and can get the breast so she''s going to wake up more at night." She seems to think it''ll correct itself soon. I really hope so since it''s been 2 weeks!

 

[fieryred33143]

Oh and I forgot!

NEAT if you are lurking...HAPPY BIRTHDAY

 

[MustangGal]

fiery - Kyle was formula fed, so maybe a bit different than in your situation, but I''m pretty certain he was eating 4-5oz bottles at that age? I guess it''s worth a try to see if that helps her though. How much does she sleep while with your MIL?

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 10/8/2009 4:02:45 PM
Author: MustangGal
fiery - Kyle was formula fed, so maybe a bit different than in your situation, but I''m pretty certain he was eating 4-5oz bottles at that age? I guess it''s worth a try to see if that helps her though. How much does she sleep while with your MIL?

A lot!

I drop her off around 7-7:30 and she sleeps from about 8 to noon. Then she''s up for maybe an hour or two and sleeps another 2 hours.

When she naps at home, it''s 2 hours max. I think once she gets her on the every 3 hours schedule, she won''t sleep as long because she''ll be hungry.

 

[robbie3982]

Mustang, thanks for the welcome! that''s nuts that Kyle''s already pulling up on things! He''s going to be a super early walker! My mom said I walked at 9 months and that was considered early back then when we were all still sleeping on our tummies.

Mrs, Thanks! Des and Jacks haven''t met yet, so it''ll be a really fun Halloween! too cute about the camping trip.

Fiery, Thanks! I hope the feeding change helps to get Sophia unconfused! I''d love for Des to sleep more at night (he''s up every 2-3 hours), but I don''t think I''m willing to sacrifice him eating more during the day. I''m too worried that less nursing would mean a supply decrease.

Happy bday, Neat!

Mustang, it''s different for ff and bf babies. My understanding is that FF babies will increase their intake as their weight increases, but bf babies will take the same overall amount for the whole time they''re EBF (well, except for the very beginning when their tummies are too small). The change in amounts per feeding with EBFers comes from having less feedings during the day when they start sleeping more at night.

 

[mela lu]

Happy Birthday Neat!!

Fiery et all:
Um, I don''t know anything about anything, since I just followed Romy''s cues on certain things (and was a drill sergeant on other things) but Romy nurses 5 times per day (7am to 7pm) and zero at night. He likes eating every 3 hours, on the dot (little bugger is a clock!). I don''t buy into the whole concept that you have to feed them more before bed, since a) nature designed nursing moms to have less supply in the late afternoon evening, thus countering the concept of needing more before bed, and b) its the total calories consumed during the day that will take them through the night. We adults don''t eat a big meal right before bed....we have a few hours between dinner and bed and we survive

I think you have to try to get 24 oz into her total before bed. That''s my philosophy. So Romeo now eats 5 times, presumably getting 5 oz each feeding. KWIM?
Check this link too: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html They suggest 25 oz; same difference.

I do agree that babies are not stupid and she knows that she can get what she wants from you. I realized this when Romeo would wake up at the same time every night for a feeding, and then only nurse for like, 5 minutes. I saw that he wasnt so much hungry as he was used to the habit of nursing at that time - so I axed it! haha. See! Sergeant

Anyways, I''ve gone off topic here, but the bottom line is, divide 24 or 25 oz by the number of feedings Sophia is taking and then you''ll have your answer

Hi Robbie! SO GLAD TO SEE YOU HERE!!

Hi Mrs! Nice to hear from you again too

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: Feedings and BFing... Bare in mind that as your baby ages his or her eating habits will change... A LOT! when growth spurts hit or new developmental milestones happen, they may change their habits and need more calories and so increase their feeds.

Prior to 4 months old, hunter was eating every 3 hours in the day and woke 1-2 times at night, when he fed well. After that it was a different story and he wakes anywhere between 2 and 6 times in the 12 hours of the night. Every time he wakes he drains both sides, so it is not snacking. I struggle a lot with whether or not to do something about it (i.e. CIO), but I have noticed that he will have 4 nights where he is up every 2 hours, followed by a return to his typical 11pm and 4am pattern. Again, he drains both sides when he wakes. If we let him CIO he is typically up again within an hour wanting to eat, at which time he drains it like a NBA star.

I was watching some videos of him yesterday and he has grown a TONNE in the last 3 weeks, which makes me wonder about his night feeds and his calorie needs? He is a very active baby and still long and slim, making me thing that he has a high metabolism. I wish I felt more confident that he got enough to drink in the day time, but with such avid feedings at night I am not sure enough to cut them out.

***

Things are going well living here at he inlaws! No privacy and sharing the room with hunter isn''t really great for sleep or our sex life

But we have saved probably $1500 between rent, food, gas etc so it is worth it. I think

On Tuesday we fly out west to stay with my family for another 2 weeks!

It will be harder because the living space is smaller, but better because my mom lives in like the BEST neighbourhood in Canada and I can walk anywhere and shop!

Mrs Hilarious about being mormon. I wondered why no one got it on in the book, and dind''t seem to mind. The message about sex is pretty hard core -- do it and you will get killed or maimed! haha

Robbie Sounds like Des is a lot like Hunter! Happy happy lovely guy, terrible sleeper!

I don''t think I would trade my little smile machine though... but some nights I think I might! And yup, hunter loves to jump and is now mobile and into everything! But it is so much fun, the next 3 months are so much better than the first 3, you are in for a treat.

 

[erica k]

MGal, it sounds like Kyle and Leon are at a similar spot developmentally. He hated tummy time, but just after he hit 6 months, he started crawling--more like slithering on our hardwood floors--and 2 weeks ago he began pulling up on the couch. He''s nearly 8 months, and I wouldn''t be surprised if he starts walking soon after Thanksgiving. In order to tire him out for bed, we usually ''walk'' him around the apartment. He has such a proud look on his face, it really helps with the sleepless nights and napless days.


Pandora, I''m so sorry to hear about your struggles. I admire you for being proactive about getting the support you need. I spent the first 5 months frustrated and unhappy, and the sleep-deprivation didn''t help with my temper. I''ve had a few scary mother moments, and at times have felt very resentful toward my little one. It has often felt like the relentless pounding of waves against a jetty with no relief in sight. My husband is only able to watch Leon for 2 hours during the afternoon, and the evenings are spent working on my dissertation and tending to my frequent waker. I am hoping that someday he''ll sleep more than a 2-3 hour stretch, but until then, I''m just trying to keep it together.


In general, though, things are getting better in terms of Leon''s mood. He used to cry frequently, which I''ve now realized was a combination of overtiredness and boredom. But for the longest time I was convinced that I had an ill-tempered baby.

Now that he can motor about and get toys and books for himself, he isn''t as quick to wail, but we still have at least 2 epic meltdowns every day because of his unwillingness to nap. All of my energy (physical and mental) is directed toward him, which leaves very little for my work or my relationships with others.

It certainly is amazing how quickly time has passed, although at the time it felt like the winter would never end! My husband is on the job market right now, and there''s a very good chance we''ll be moving to Europe in 5-6 months. I''m hoping to defend my dissertation this spring or next fall, but it really depends on whether I can snag a post-doc or job offer this winter. I''m so happy to be back on PS after a long hiatus. It was good to have a break because my life was starting to get overwhelming, but it''s also good to hear about everyone''s experiences. Hopefully I can check in every few days, dissertation- and Leon-willing.

 

[neatfreak]

Hi all-thanks for the birthday wishes! So nice to log on and see that. Made my day!

Spent the day with the little ones mostly walking around our favorite little shopping spot and browsing. Didn't buy anything but it was fun. DH was very sweet (got me a cute sweater from Anthropologie I have been eyeing) but didn't get me a cake (and I LOVE cake). He says he tried to find my favorite cake and couldn't find a place that had it (strawberry cake) so he just didn't get anything.

Men! I do not understand how nothing is better than something else besides my hard to find favorite when I love pretty much any cake in existence. So I am annoyed. He promised to get me a cake this week when we go out to celebrate my birthday (too hard to do tonight). But otherwise overall it was a good day so I can't complain.

Erica I totally commiserate on the dissertation writing front. I am getting so much less done than I would like.

Fiery So sorry to hear about the feeding frustration. I hope it fixes itself very soon!

 

[fieryred33143]

Just a quick note. I''m a little frustrated because I don''t know what I''m doing wrong. Yesterday MIL fed her every 3 hours, 5oz each. I nursed 3 times when I got home. We did our bedtime routine. I thought for sure she would give me a nice long stretch but she didn''t. It took from 8pm to 10pm to get her to sleep because she kept waking up. Then she woke up at 2 to feed and again at 4. It''s frustrating because I''m so exhausted and am practically a zombie for work. I really wish I knew what I was doing wrong. Today we''re doing the 3oz bottles and I''m going to try to put her to bed at 7pm to see if an earlier bedtime is the key.

I wish I knew what I did to get her to sleep from 9-5. And now I have to go to a 10 hour training. Should be interesting lol. Do you think that maybe coffee is affecting her? I didn''t drink any while on mat leave but am now having really strong coffee everyday. I''m going to eliminate coffee all together and see if that helps.

 

[cdt1101]

Fiery - I don''t think you''re doing anything wrong! Just continue w/ what you did yesterday and give it some time. Once I decided what routine I wanted to follow it took a couple of weeks for me to see improvement w/ Lex. Don''t be so hard on yourself..you''re doing GREAT!

 

[mela lu]

Ditto CTDs post. Babies take a minimum of 3 days to "learn" a new schedule, so you really have to pick ONE routine, and then give it 3 - 7 days to see if it's working. Good luck! Oh, and try cutting the caffiene - can't hurt and at least you can rule it out as a possible culprit. As for you, try substituting it with water. Sometimes drinking water can help give you a boost if you're feeling sleepy at work. Hugs!

DD - I have a "project" idea for you....why don't you try giving Hunter expressed milk in a bottle for a whole day, so you can see how many oz he's getting, and then try CIO at night for a minimum of 3 nights? Maybe he is getting enough in the day and has just become accustomed to eating all night long too. ??? If he gets his 25 oz during the day, there is technically no reason he can't sleep a LONG stretch at night. He needs to have solid unbroken sleep in order to enter that restorative sleep state. I bet he'd be more rested and probably even happier (if that's possible) if he was getting amazing sleep! I don't know. It's just a thought. By bottle feeding him, you can rest easy that he's had "enough" calories in the day to endure the night. The only reason I'm suggesting this is (aside from letting you get some sleep) because long-term, when he's older, I doubt that you'll want him to eat during the night. It may be easier to break now than later. I don't know....

ETA: this "project" will probably have to wait until you're in your new place so that you don't subject your families to the crying. Whoops!


DD - cake. You're hilarious!!! Tisk tisk on you DH, but at least you'll get some later this week.

Romeo has finally started babbling. The past 2 days have been pretty funny

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 10/9/2009 8:39:31 AM
Author: mela lu

DD - I have a ''project'' idea for you....why don''t you try giving Hunter expressed milk in a bottle for a whole day, so you can see how many oz he''s getting, and then try CIO at night for a minimum of 3 nights? Maybe he is getting enough in the day and has just become accustomed to eating all night long too. ??? If he gets his 25 oz during the day, there is technically no reason he can''t sleep a LONG stretch at night. He needs to have solid unbroken sleep in order to enter that restorative sleep state. I bet he''d be more rested and probably even happier (if that''s possible) if he was getting amazing sleep! I don''t know. It''s just a thought. By bottle feeding him, you can rest easy that he''s had ''enough'' calories in the day to endure the night. The only reason I''m suggesting this is (aside from letting you get some sleep) because long-term, when he''s older, I doubt that you''ll want him to eat during the night. It may be easier to break now than later. I don''t know....

ETA: this ''project'' will probably have to wait until you''re in your new place so that you don''t subject your families to the crying. Whoops!

Thisi s avery good idea and I will try it when we move into our new place at the end of the month. One issue is that right now Hunter isn''t interested in bottles

But we have not tried a lot. I didn''t have an electric pump before and so never was able to pump much. But I bought a medela from my friend last week and it works GREAT!! Problem is that I accudentally packed the parts that you hold to the breast

Otherwise let me tell you, we would be working on this project now!

 

[neatfreak]

Fiery Stop blaming yourself! Likely there is nothing that you did to make her sleep 9-5 just like there is nothing you are doing that is making her get up multiple times a night. Some babies just aren''t great sleepers.

But I ditto Mela about routines-they say it takes a week to make a new routine-so just stick to your guns. We''ve all been there-after months of STTN my boys went through a phase for about 2 weeks where they were both getting up 1-2x a night again. WTF! But it went back to normal after a few weeks. So my point is that it happens to most babies!

 

[Pandora II]

Thanks all - you make me feel so much better.

I think it is a combination of being really tired - STTN is still a LONG way off I think. I go to bed around midnight and we''re up again at 7am and she will wake up between 2 and 5 times depending on whether she''s growing a lot or not. She''ll drain each side everytime, so it''s not as if she''s using me as a pacifier...

She''s desperate to stand, walk, sit, talk, eat and can''t manage to do any of them on her own yet which makes her very frustrated. I went out and bought her a Jumperoo from Fisher Price last Saturday and we had two days of peace and quiet and smiles and giggles while she worked it out. Now she''s bored with it. I even tried hiding it yesterday and hoping she''d like it today - no such luck, she screams to come out after 5 minutes. She only likes it if I sit there and we do everything together.

Luckily DH is back and I can at least have 10 minutes every now and then.

My legal battle finally ended this morning when my settlement arrived in my account. I think that all coming to an end has been a relief, but also I''m getting used to not living with that kind of stress which after a whole year of it is a bit of an adjustment.

It''s such a relief to know that others are going through the same thing at this stage. DD - Daisy is 5 months next week, so sounds very similar to Hunter.

Mrs & Blen - Baby Led Weaning... I have this book which is the bible of BLW over here I think. Give me a shout if you want info on any of it - I know a lot of people here who are giving it a go.

Most people panic that the baby isn''t actually eating, but as they''re really still on milk feeds it isn''t a problem, or that they will choke. As long as you don''t put anything in their mouth for them and they are sitting upright it''s pretty uncommon for them to choke. They will gag if they move something too far back in their mouth, but that is a normal safety feature that babies start to lose after 6 months - a bit like the tongue thrust reflex that pushes any foreign object out of the mouth: if you give a 3 month old baby cereal or something of that sort, they will spit it out not because they don''t like it but because nature is protecting them from eating when their digestive system is still too immature.

I''m finding it VERY hard to stop Daisy from eating things already - she''ll grab them off my plate and shove them straight in her mouth if she can and then screams blue murder when I remove them from her. She watches me eating like a hawk and makes chewing movements to copy, so funny. We''ve had a couple of incidents where she''s got some in before I''ve got it out: banana she bit a piece off while we were fighting over it. Of course it was a big chunk and made her gag and spit it out. Hah! Confiscated!

I have caved on letting her have raw carrots and raw apple. I just peel a carrot and hand it to her and she just gums it for 20 minutes or so. The apple is the same, although she prefers a nice apple core to suck - or whichever bit I''m eating. They''re hard enough that she can''t break bits off, and she''s not actually eating anything but can get a bit of taste by sucking so they''ll hopefully keep her happy till she''s 6 months and I can stick a nice chunk of steak in her hand!

Erica - I have bipolar disorder so I''ve had a team following me since I was first pregnant. They watch you very closely for the first year PP as I have a 50% chance of developing PPP and 70% of PPD. At the moment they think I''m a bit depressed - but due to circumstances and not due to underlying illness - and their raison d''etre is to anticipate any downhill slide and intervene early. So, I''m in the fortunate position of not having to ask for help or even recognise that there is a problem as they are there to do just that. I''m incredibly lucky to have this back-up and it''s only because I live in the catchment area for one of the UK''s top psychiatric hospitals.

Will catch up with all the other posts asap.

 

[cdt1101]

Pandora - Lex gets SUPER bored too! He likes a ''toy'' for a week maybe and then hates it. He LOVED his exersaucer for a few weeks and I was so excited...now he gets so frustrated when he''s in it...it''s not entertaining enough for him

Same w/ pretty much everything else.....so the days are loooooooooong and full of whining because of boredom. I really don''t know what to do w/ him most days anymore. Fun times

And Lex hawks too while we eat..it''s so funny! But I guess I''m more laid back w/ the food thing because I''ve been giving him small tastes of things for almost a month now. And I started 1 baby food feeding around dinnertime. And he loves peas??? Gross! I hate peas...hehehe....he didn''t care for the applesauce at all! Kept making a sour face and would spit it out...too funny!

Glad to hear your legal ordeal is behind you