1 Month - 3 Months, September '05

[Tigergirl1980]

Hi All

What a lovely day it is here, finally. I just got back from meeting Shannon, for those of you who haven't met her yet she is lovely, and Jess is soooooo cute and soooo tiny, well tiny compared to my little big boofa.

Well I might leave it at that today

Have a good rest of your day if I don't come back again.

[Melody]

8-[ Hello, hello.... the bouncer at the "1-3 Month Thread" said I could come in as long as I found my friends & left straight away....

I miss all my August Thread pregnancy buddies but they got clever on me & had thier bubs early! You know who you are! [-(

Fletch I hope your bb's are feeling better.... a really hot shower & massage does wonders (not to mention some valuable time out for mummy) Your little Zane is DIVINE! I love the new smiling pics! Cant wait to see Hunter breaking out into a grin. I've just come of antibiotics for mastitis so fingers crossed it is good & gone.

I must admit ladies.... i am reading your posts about bubs sleeping 6-8 hours & positively SALIVATING! =P~ Hunter is still only managing 4 hour stretches through the night (11pm feed, 2.30am feed & then awake by 6.30am)

We are in a pretty good routine & he is a really good boy.... i had my ECC home visit yesterday & the woman was absolutely awesome.... what a lovely lady she was. Very down to earth & reassuring. Hunter has put on 580g in the last 13 days & the average for this period is 300-400g so i am feeling good about everything in terms of his health.

I am also forcing myself to go walking between 4-5pm which seems to make all the difference to his unsettled time in the afternoon (between 5-7pm).

Quick question to all the 'old hands'.... how do i know when he is ready to drop a feed? In order to keep my milk supply hearty & promote night time sleeping we are still feeding 7 times a day (but he is very fast & drains a boob in 15 minutes) but for the last five days i have actually had to wake him for his 10.30/11pm feed & he is sleepy throughout it. Any thoughts? I'm nervous about dropping it though because that would mean he would go from 7pm-2.30am. Is that too long for a bub his age to go without food?


Hunter is great though.... an old soul. Sometimes he will just lift his head & look at me as if to say "Come on Mummy, sort yourself out" it is a crack-up.... he seems like he is the one being patient with me! Watching DH with him has added a whole new dimension to my love for this man. He is besotted. I'm ok.... a bit emotional from the lack of sleep but i know it wont last. :-({|=

[Hayseed]

Hi girls,

Still have a bit of a grumpy bum on my hands, although Pup is much better the past couple of days compared to what he was like on Monday. I dunno, maybe a growth spurt????

Melody, for a little tacker, I think that dropping that 11pm feed is a bit early, but I'm no expert!! My little man is feeding every 4hrs - rarely he sleeps longer than that even through the night. I have feed times very similar to yours. If he is sleepy at the 11pm feed, I say just get as much into him as possible. The midwives told me to change the nappy in the middle of the feed to get Pup to drink a bit more. Also in the early days, I had to strip off Pup down to his singlet top to feed so that he didn't get too warm and cozy. Even now, I still don't feed with any blankets or wraps on him. If he doesn't need/want the feed, he won't wake up. And you should take the opportunity then to sleep through that time until he does wake. During the day, i rouse my little man if he sleeps much beyond 4.5hrs, but at night, I let him go for as long as he wants to sleep. If necessary, I express my milk if he is doing a marathon snooze (say 5 - 6hrs). And Thomas is an old sould too - a lot of people who have seen him for the first time have commented that they think he has been here before!

Fletch, that is a great photo of Zane smiling!! My little man looks very similar to yours in his cot! Such a big bed for little guys!

Hayseed

[heather]

Hi Melody - ill just throw my two cents in.... in the beginning i used to try to wake hendrix for feeds but he is just such a deep sleeper that it was just a waste of time. A paed i know said that he didnt believe in waking a healthy bub. That he will let you know when he is hungry. So i say that you should get to bed and enjoy some sleep. Hendy dropped his late night feed pretty early and know has dropped all night feeds. I would just say follow his lead.

[~Jo~]

Hello Ladies and bubbies

Hiya Mel...so nice to see you. I miss our little group..sob...hows your darling boy going? I worry about bubs dropping sleeps too as it does seem like a long time for them to be going without but i dont think babies will go hungry..they let you know when its time to be fed!

Hope Thomas is having a better day today Hayseed. Dontcha just wish they could tell us exactly whats wrong sometimes...i always worry that Sammy is cold or uncomfy or something.

Awww Kate..what bad timing for all your news all at once. No doubt darling Kelse will be fine and best wishes for your nanna. Lack of sleep can make the most sanest of sane person into an emotional wreck..i had a big cry to my mum the other night too..though a few minutes later felt so much better. Sammy has a slight click and in his left hip..so paed doesnt think is a prob but have ultrasound next week just in case. Thanks for letting me know what to expect though.

Well my darling little boy slept for most of the day yesterday. We drove up got the new car and pretty much drove back again. We stopped a few times on the way for feeds and changes but hes lulled to sleep going in the car..but today he just wants cuddles..little darling.

Ohh lil man is hungry.

Bye for now

Jo

[sunbeam koala]

Hi everyone, we're back!

I haven't time to catch up on what's happening yet, but hope to get up to date soon. Our hoiliday went really well...DH and I fell in love again! and Alexander was a little darling the whole time. His colic has gone thankfully and we were all able to enjoy each other for the trip. We put some photos up on the last page of our website.

Also had some time while we were away to finally write out Alex's birth story, it is in that thread if you're interested to read it.

Regards to all

[heather]

OMG DEB - im so jealous!! Look at that amazing landscape to act as a background to the photos of your beautiful boy!! WOW.

I love europe so much and seeing those photos really makes me mushy. We are all going to Italy next year so that should be amazing!! I look forward to hearing more about your travels

[nellbe]

Brooke - I just went through all your old posts to try and find Maya's stats and when you did the orginial filling out, the stats weren't there? Just give them again and I'll put them in. Sorry for late reply, took me awhile to go back...

Hope all is well with everyone!

[wardygirl]

Hi all,

just dropping in quickly before we run off to the doctors. I'm feeling like total crap with throat/tonsil infection. It kills to swallow so I really hope he can give me something I can take while bfing.

Had to share with you all... Blake gave his first laugh yesterday. He was in the bath after a massive, yes I mean massive poo, and I was washing under his chin and he started laughing. It was priceless, and certainly made up for the mess he made in his pants (and clothes!)

Deb, I looked at your holiday photos and they are gorgeous. I'm so jealous.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

[Stormi]

Hi all,

Sunbeam - LOVE the photos, how gorgeous. Makes me want to go on holidays!

Wardy - lol, I read your post and started laughing because you said he'd done a big poo and you were washing under his chin LOL. I know that's not how you meant it but I just had images of this giant poo up to his neck. Sorry, a bit gross.

Well I'm going to have to visit the doctor this arvo. We are all sick in this house at the moment, but now I've got conjuctivitis!!! My eye was feeling sore/stingy so had a look in the mirror and it is sooooo red and gluggy. I don't think you can get stuff just from the chemist as there are different causes of pink eye so you need to have a doctor look at it first. Hopefully the kids won't get it. Luckily I got it as it's much easier for me not to touch my eye than if they had it.

Bit of a bummer as we have a birthday party to go to tomorrow. Riley's still too sick to go I think and I can't take Cooper coz I'm infectious.

Makenzie was sooo good yesterday and last night. I was suprised as Dh had to fly to Melbourne for the day and I really thought I'd have a tough time with us all being sick, thought Makenzie would have one of her really unsettled days. But she was good as gold. She's been really good today, too.

Anyway, better go, waiting for DH to get home so I can ring the doctors. Not sure when he'll be home (should be soon). Don't want to take Riley and Kenzie with me if I can help it, especially as I'll probably be sitting in the waiting room for an hour or more!

[wardygirl]

Lisa, you made me laugh my pants off! Re-reading what I wrote, yes it sounds like Blake did do the world's largest poo, right up to his chin! It was ALMOST that big, but no, not quite up to his neck. I just happened to be giving all of him a wash seeing he was in the bath. Also, I'm sooo sorry to hear you've got conjunctivitis. It sucks. I used to get it lots cause I've got really sensitive and suseptible eyes. Touch wood I haven't had it for ages.

I feel 100% better than I did this morning and I've only taken 2 of my tablets. I've got a long way to go, but I'm soooo glad I went to to docs and got something. I'm trying to decide whether I stay up and watch Dirty Dancing or go to bed to help my throat get better. Hmmm, it think I'll just watch a little bit

Hope you all have a great weekend.

[Gemma]

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven't been here for a while. I have gone to post a few times but haven't been able to for one reason or another.

Rachel - I'm glad you are feeling better, doesn't sound like much fun at all. Warm lemon juice may help your thoat.

Brooke - I don't have the book but use similar principles from The Baby Wisperer. Hang in there...I'm sure Maya will be back to normal very soon.

Deb - Welcome back, glad you had a great time on your holiday.

Kate - for Kelsey, she will be fine. You sound like you are getting heaps of exercise in which is great. Enjoy your class if you go. There are 3 boys and 3 girls in our mother's group but another 3 turned up which were girls. No I don't get a sore back, have you been doing your post natal exercises?

Amy had her immunisation on Tuesday was hot (37.2 not really bad) but we gave her Panadol anyway and she settled down. She was lying next to her friend Declan at Mothers Group and she was laughing. It was so funny, I had tears in my eyes because she was so gorgeous. The class had to stop because she was distracting everyone with her laughing. She smiles and laughs all the time now. We are probably going to TTC this month.

Have a great weekend. Sorry for those I missed, will catch up properly later.

[wardygirl]

Brooke, I've never heard of Gina Ford's book although I just googled her to find a couple of reviews. I might even grab a copy. Sorry to also hear that you've had problems with Maya's sleep (wondering why I didn't pick that up from your previous posts?) Hopefully Gina's advice and routine suggestions will make a difference for you all.

Two little woo hoos from here... Vivienne passed her skating test today. She's been struggling to do a triple heel and toe spin which means she has to rotate 3 times balancing on the back two wheels of one skate and the front two wheels of the other. She's done the a couple of times but the teacher didn't see them so they 'don't count'. Well she's been practicing at home the last couple of days (courtesty of my blackmail! LOL) and because of this she did several of the spins in class which the teacher saw! She now has passed this level - Star 4 - and now begins 'Bronze Freestyle' classes. Soon she will be having private lessons and competing. I'm thrilled for her.

The other woo hoo is that DH bought our flat screen monitor today. We've been talking about it for a while but we got a bit of a bonus in the way of $$ this week so he went and got it about an hour ago, and I'm happily using now. It makes the computer desk look soooo big.

Still got sore throat but the medicine is helping. Blake's fast asleep... I've been taking the advise of my MCHN to put him into bed after he's been up about 1.25hours - obviously when I'm home to do this, and it's made a huge difference. Not only does he sleep, he happily falls asleep almost immediately. It's working for us 9 times out of 10 so I'm thrilled. I guess it's a bit like the Gina Ford info, Brooke... it's a matter of knowing how much is enough for your baby and how much is too much.

Gemma, thanks for the warm lemon idea. Might just try it. Glad to hear that the needles didnt affect Amy too much. Love the idea of having to stop the mothers group class because she was laughing too much! Mind you I don't think babies can laugh too much, can they? We really have to fit in a walk or a catch up coffee. If the weather is too lousy, shall we go to Knox this week instead?

I'm going to rest whilst my boy is too. In fact the whole family are in bed except me as DH & DD are going to my SIL's 50th surprise party tonight (Blake and I are staying home, because hes' too little and because of my throat.) It's down in Leongatha so I'd rather keep Blake home as if he doesn't like it, it's a long way to come back!

Enjoy your afternoons

[Melody]

just wanted to let you know we are now following the Gina Ford routine in her book, the new contented little baby book. WISH i had this from day 1. We realised Maya wasnt sleeping enough during the day and have had to really make her sleep and this apparently will help her feed better as she will have more energy to do so.
Started the routines today so wish us luck...ill come on hopefully soon and let you know how its going. Anyone else following this method?? It makes ALOT of sense.

Hi Brookey, just letting you know that DH & I couldn't be happier with the book & routines.

I read it in the 6th month of pregnancy & every word resonated with what i was hoping to achieve (with Hunter) but a few people i discussed it with were a bit negative (far too regimented etc) so i put it aside & just intended to simply promote day sleeping. The first night at home was NASTY (with Hunter) & DH picked it up of my 'baby book pile' by chance. He took charge & pretty much from that day Hunter has followed her patterns with delight. Yes, it is hard to keep him awake at times but then i just make a judgement call & usually put him to bed a bit early (compensating with the next sleep/feed) but overall i couldn't be more at ease.

This 'regimented' routine also allows us to plot times that we can get things done or just have some adult 'space'.

[wardygirl]

That's it, girls. I'm off to track down this book. Not that I'm having any problems with Blake, in fact once I took on board what the MCHN said, I'm soo surprised and happy that it works... he just falls asleep in his bed as if he was waiting for me to put him there but didn't know how to tell me!

Unfortunately I can't go and find it (you know how it is when you want something you want it now!) as DH & DD have gone away in my car. I do have DH's car however the ute is not equiped for the capsule or reversible car seat. It may have an anchor point but I'm not going to bother looking for it. So I have my pram and if we need to go anywhere we're on foot/wheels.

Brooke, I'm so sorry that Dan's having problems adapting to being a dad. It certainly is a life changing, and to a degree, limiting experience to be a parent. It does take away all the "living on a whim" abilities and certainly does tie you down to some kind of responsibility and routine. It's hard work, exhausting and sometimes frustrating, however IT IS the best job in the whole wide world. It's those first smiles, first laugh, baby cuddles, heart melting snuggles that make it something I couldn't live without. I'm glad that he's able to talk about his feelings, as you are able to share your feelings with us. It's oh so important to communicate, and it sounds like you are doing the right thing and making sure he has some space to do his 'old life' stuff. But do make sure he lets you do the same as it is hard work.

Will continue later as the boy's awake and I'm alone.

Big hugs & keep your chin up
xx

[heather]

Brooke - hey darl so sorry to hear of Dans difficulty with the adjustment into parental life. It is hard isnt it?? I think mike is adjusting really well but he is away a bit of late with Alex and touring (actually he is away tonight at the hunter valley for a bucks night) so i can so understand what you mean about coping a lot on your own. Your obviously a really supportive partner being very undersanding of his predicament. I think im more likely to get upset and be of the attitude that its big adjustment for you too. I hope that he can get his bearings quickly and realise that he still is the same old Dan and that things will get easier as Maya gets a little older. He is probably also stressed from lack of sleep but hopefully this new routine will mean that you all are a little less sleep deprived. Big hugs to you all and an especially tight bear one for you.

Rach - ive gotta run but big congrats to viv.

xx

[Gemma]

Brooke - I'm sure Dan will be fine. It is a big shock to normal life having a baby and it will take some getting used to. Does he take time to play with Maya? If he is happy to entertain, cuddle or bath her it may give you time to do other things and also get some time to yourself. I'msure this is normal and nothing to worry about although that probably doesn't help much. See you in the next thread in a couple of weeks.

Rachel - That't great that you got a flat sceen. We are borrowing my brothers and it is fantastic and much better than looking at the small laptop screen. You must be so excited for Viv, say congratulations for me. I used to skate at Caribbean 4 times a week and did some competitions. Still have some leotards from the comps if you want them for Viv. I miss it now and only threw out my skates a few months ago. I was still trying to wear them and they were from about 1981, they were almost crippling my feet! Hope you are feeling better. Knox would be good, we are there almost every week anyway.

Bought Pinky McKays book 100 ways to Calm the crying and it is really good. Also started using the 'Peace Baby' CD to help Amy get to sleep. She doesn't like sleeping during the day and it has worked well getting her to sleep now. Great music too and it's not the traditional classical music.

[sunbeam koala]

Hi girls,

A good friend of mine in Canada with twins has followed the book since they were 6 weeks and they are now 6 months old and sleep 12 hours a night, and all are contented!
After hearing about alex's colic she sent me the book and while we were in France we started to try the routine (although not very seriously as we wanted to travel!)

So we ware also now 48 hours into the routine (the 2-4 week one), and we think its great. the best bit is feeling confident about knowing that his needs are met, and understanding why he's crying...also DH and I get to have that precious time between 7 and 10 in the evening for ourselves...last night it was massages...:-)

Hope to trade stories with others into the routines. Brooke, which one are you starting with?? Have you got her onto one similar to her age? I thought i should start earlier as he was feeding often and waking often..like a little bub. Once he's into this routine we will start advancing him quickly, I hope!