Babies Born February 2007 #6

Hey SMYLIE _ Claudia has one of the bottom middle teeth. She is ready to cut the one next door too because her gum is very, very tight atm. I think it' s been giving her some trouble so I've been giving her the frozen teething rings during the day & the bonjela or sedagel at night. Last night she slept from 8 - 3:30 which was a damn miracle. I'm hoping for another repeat of that tonight thank you very much. Everybody is putting down their routines, but I haven't because each day is different. LOL. I separate the breastfeeds to the solids as well, so we both can't be stupid. LMAO. I feed her when she first wakes in the morning, then usually an hour to 90 minutes later I give her some breakfast. Just lately she's mad on melted cheese on toast or it's pear or the heinz organics vanilla custard powder stuff made with ebm, say about an hour or two after that I put her down for a sleep when she is tired & grizzly, which usually by that time she's been up around 3 hours. When she wakes, I give her a feed again & do the whole cycle again with lunch (cucumber sticks & some yoghurt is her fave atm) about an hour or so after the breastfeed & then she goes back for a sleep again & I feed her when she wakes, play with her, cook dinner & put her into the bath, then bed. I don't put actual times in because it's different all the time.
Claudia is pulling herself to standing on the furniture. It's insane because we have hard floors throughout all the living areas! She just wants to get into whatever Jessica is into. It's been hard because I have to make sure now that Jessica isn't playing with a toy that has small parts while Claudia is on the go as Claudia is putting everything into her mouth, as babies do!
We start back at Jessica's swimming lessons tomorrow but Jessica is not well with a cold & Claudia has conjunctivitis! eeewww! Myself & my girls are so rundown it's not funny. We need to go stay on a farm or somethign in the fresh air & detox to get all the germs out. I'm getting lots of coldsores & the kids are getting sniffles but this cold Jessica has is a ripper & I'm pretty sure I have a sinus infection because I feel as though my face is going to fall off when I bend over. I've no idea where Claudia got the gunky eyes from but she is sneezing all the time today so I'm guessing she is getting a gold too! I'm loving the idea of the straw cup, that's hilarious! I'd love to be a fly on the wall with your mothers groups!

TASHIE _ Aw, thanks sweetness. I hope Tobies is okay, it's scary taking them to hospy. Is he ok now? We are going ok, the girls are keeping me busy & I'm not well so we are just focussing on getting better. I've been pretty busy so I haven't really had a chance to think about it much. We spoke last night but I haven't heard from him today. I just got my PC back & all upgraded with Skype so maybe we can talk on Thursday beacuse I'm out tomorrow night for dinner with my IL's. I WAS very teary when he left, but I've pulled myself together. I don't talk about him much to Jessica atm, because she isn't well & sometimes asks for her daddy to lay down with her & I just want her to adjust without him atm, if that makes sense? It's easier on me when she's not asking for him all the time.

well I best be off to bed & get my beauty rest!
Love Jayne

Second night DS and I have slept through and this time it wasn't caused by hysterical crying WAHOO 6pm to 5am I think food before milk really helped. He had a lot for dinner and then followed it up with a LOT of BM. I'm surprised the lil darling could lay on his belly to sleep. (yes I know they're meant to be on their back but he rolls onto his belly straight away and with our Angelcare monitor we don't need to worry so much anyway)

So I found another tooth yesterday. I had thought he was a bit drooly but his demeanor has been pretty good until yesterday afternoon so I checked for a hard gum/tooth and voila its already popped out :clap: He now has the 2 bottom and the top left front. Its a lil off to the side but I remember reading that sometimes the teeth will come down out of place and then settle to their rightful position. One to go then hopefully a break from the teething for at least a coupla weeks.

Forgot to write that had to take DD (2.5) to the emergency on Sunday. We were just about to have lunch and she runs in from her playroom and is choking on something. It ended up going down rather than coming out and only thing I could figure it might have been was a metallic button cover so we headed to the hospital quick smart. Turns out there wasn't anything metallic in her xray so we'll never know what it was. I'm keeping an eye out (she's still pooing in her diaper) but as I don't know what I'm looking for I'm not going to look too hard. Oh and when we got home and I had a bit more of a chance to look I found the missing button cover inside the couch :rolleyes:

Enjoy your days :)

Hi everyone :)

Hi Christie and Tashie and the gorgeous Tobi and Tyler :) Nice to meet you all!

I've been trying to read over all the posts I have missed... Gee you girls can talk!!! lmao

Just a question... is Harrison the only bubba without teeth? :(
I told my Mum yesterday that I think Harrison is going to be fitted with dentures soon!!! lol.
Surely with all the food he eats (and yep, he eats everything) nature would provide him with teeth to help him munch through all the foods he enjoys? Oh well, I am sure they will come in time. He has been drooling a lot and really red in the cheeks but without a temp, so maybe they're not too far away?

Nothing much to report here. Just the same really. Harrison goes to bed around 7pm every night, he will wake again around 4-5am to get into bed with us, and then he sleeps through until 7. He eats everything and anything. He loves tomatoes, right now they are his favourite thing. In the mornings, he eats rice bubbles with banana, then he has a bottle and a nap. Then he has a sandwich and fruit for lunch. Dinner consists of meat and vegies, or pasta and vegies. He eats whatever it is that we're eating, or he will have something specially made for him if we're eating something bad like pizza. Last night he had some lamb cutlet... he really loved chewing on the bone!!! He is definitely his Dadda's boy! lol

Well, I will do personals when I have caught up on everything.
Thanks once again to everyone who supported me through the last few weeks :grouphug: I am doing much better now... and I found out the other night that I am going to be an Aunty again!!! My littlest sister Cassie is pregnant!!! She is over the moon about it... it will be her first baby!!! I am wondering if she will break the girl drought in our family? But I am thinking it might be another beautiful blue bubba in there.

Congrats to all those bubbas with new teeth! Elouise is still yet to have hers pop through, and I think she's the oldest, born 2nd Feb. So don't worry Lisa. And congrats to your sister!

Elouise's routine changed to one for older bubs, I just gave it a try and its working.
Bottle 275ml and yoghurt 0700
Bottle 275ml and fruit or veg 1200
Bottle 275ml and fruit or veg 1700-1800
Total of 15 scoops formula.

She slept all last night so it was a case of her being hungry when she kept waking. Coz night before last DP went and got her a 3 scoop (165ml) bottle which she drained and slept for the rest of the night.

AF must DIE!!! Sorry, just I hate the cramps and the mess. Stupid pads keep moving and I have to keep changing undies. p!ssing me off!! Ok hormone rant over now...

Hi girls,
Tobi still isn't eating much, only really eating yogurt at the moment. His temp was up again all day yesterday, I let it get to 38.9 before I gave him some panadol. Went to the doctor and she said to just keep an eye on him. Today he woke up crying and has a blocked nose, so we might head back to the doctor again this arvo. If this is his way of telling me he is teething, I am not looking forward to when he is really sick. I think he is going to be a big sook like his Dad.

Catherine - Sorry to hear you're not feeling too comfortable. I hope they are over and done with soon. I haven't got mine back yet. I guess I should be grateful, but without having them for over a year, I just want to feel normal again. I am on the mini-pill though, so whether or not that is making a difference I dont know.

Lisa - Tobi doesn't have any teeth either. I can't believe Harrison is eating all that food without teeth. I am looking forward to that stage. Tobi hates lumps and if he finds one in his food, he wont finish his tea.

Christie - Have fun in your poo search. I am sure it is going to happen to us all before too long. Especially in our case. My DH is hopeless with leaving things lying around. I keep telling him to start learning now before Munchkin can move, but no luck. I have two children!!!

Jayne - I hope you and your girls feel better soon. I have been asking how the other defence Mums handle their Dad's going away, something I am not looking forward to. They suggested using a calendar or even advent calenders and you mark off a day together each day until your DH gets home.

Kel - I wouldn't worry too much about Jemima's weight chart. Tobi has dropped a line too in his weight and he hasn't been sick or anything. The doctors told me not to be concerned. All babies are different and I know mine doesn't sit still. She'd let you know if she wanted more food. I am going to get some crustkits today. I am also going to try and make my own rusks. I have been lazy so far and bought all our baby food. You can get Weetbix for kids that have added iron and other stuff in them. I tried one a Tobi a few weeks ago, but he wasn't interested.

Have a great day everyone
xxx

PS. I think Tobi talks in his sleep. I heard him talking last night so I got up to check on him and he was sound asleep!!!!

Cate: Quinn is the oldest, he was born 12:13 am on 1 feb :) He has 8 teeth, I am used to him being the youngest all the time, he is the youngest in mothers group the others are all a month to 2 weeks older, but he is the biggest!! Last weigh in he was 9.88kgs and 75cms.

Kel, Quinn has his moments with biting nipples, sometimes he does a test bite which at least gives me time to say NO!

Ooh woken up
Hi everyone else

Thanks Kirsten. There's so many of us its hard to keep track! El talks a little in her sleep, more like murmuring. She's so happy and active its great!

Hi girlies. I concur, Lisa, these ladies are chatterboxes!

I got Liebs to sleep through the 8.30 wake up for the first time in about 6 weeks Monday night. Then yesterday DH came home from work with manflu (I've had this but still no time off, still baking even!) so DS's routine was butchered as he doesn't want to sleep with Daddy around. He's shifted his morning sleep to about 11-11.30 start; this means he has an afternoon nap around 3pm. Which is playgroup time today. Ah well, he can go to sleep there or if he gets grumpy I can leave early.

DS occasioinally bites me, usually when he has finished and I'm not paying attention (just a nip to remind me what I'm supposed to be doing) or when he's nearly asleep and he's latching off but just wants a quick suck. It's not a malicious bite so doesn't hurt, I barely notice it now. He has 3 teeth now!

Wow, you poor mummies with hospital visits! Liebs loves playing with buttons and I'm dreading him swallowing one - he has a load of buttons on 2 strings of elastic (for safety) that he loves to chew.

Lieby has dropped weight as well as a line in weight; it's nothing much to worry about but I'm now letting him eat biscuits and my baking too. He still prefers apples to fairy cakes, so I feel happy in that.

I wish Liebs talked in his sleep, he snores like a monster instead!

G'morning all,

I had another good nights sleep. By George I think he's got it YAHOOO OK I'll stop talkin bout it now coz I know those of you that haven't yet succeeded a full nights sleep are proly cursing me ;)

Tashie - That’s so funny that you said, "I have been lazy so far and bought all our baby food." I have been exactly the same and only this week I've started making more of an effort and actually pureeing a small portion of our dinner for DS. I always put it off because it seemed too much hassle. I'm glad I'll no longer be filling the trolley with all that baby food. I was always conscious of it LOL I'm a lil paranoid :P

Kirsten - You're lucky for the test bite. DS went through a phase of biting me. He hasn't done it for a while so I'm hoping it was a phase and he's done with it. He would sometimes get this 'look' on his face just before he did it but other times I wouldn't get any warning. He drew blood once. OUCH!! :ouch: I ended up hovering my free hand nearby so if he did bite I could shove a finger in quick smart. Maybe he gave up trying as each time he was foiled :P
Just an idea but you might want to say STOP instead of NO. We put off saying NO to my DD in an effort to avoid her saying NO to us because once they start doing that it IS infuriating.

Ryn - isn't it funny that the things that most interested the littlies are so often not good for them. Like buttons and plastic bags. That’s cool that you found a safe way of having him play with the buttons, I might try that.

OK off to get something achieved.

Ciao

Yay Christie!

Can I just ask the sleeping-through babies' Mummies - did the baby just decide to sleep through or did they sleep for longer and longer first? I'm thinking about just not letting DS feed and making him go back to sleep as of November 1st if he's not sleeping well by then.

Liebs also loves remotes, phones, tissues, loo roll, watches and my handbag. I let him chew on the leather and have given him a toy "remote" that makes noises. As that wasn't cutting it, he also has my old mobile phone as a toy too. He also eats things like carrot sticks and pasta, courgette sticks and jacket potatoes, broccoli florets... for his dinner: he self-feeds so we can all eat together. I love that! But when he's grumpy I give him our food blended or jars of food - he loves them so I'm not going to complain! If he doesn't like his home-cooked blended food then his girlfriend is 2 weeks older than him so I just give the jar to her Mummy to save her cooking a meal.

Ryn - Tobi just decided to sleep for eight hours straight a few months back before he got out of routine. To get him back into routine this time, I stopped feeding him during the night. I downloaded this book off the net and it really helped. The idea is, keep the room dark and quiet. Don't look or talk to them. Just pat them softly on their chests until they stop crying. Don't pat them if they aren't crying. If they start crying again, count to 30 and pat them again. The first night it took me 30 minutes to get Tobi off to sleep, but each time he got better and on the 6th night he slept through for 13hours. Now he sleeps for about 11hours a night. I knew that he wasn't waking up because he was hungry, but every time I picked him up, he smelt the milk and that's what he wanted. I just needed that hint on how to settle him back to sleep and it worked. Makes sense to me now, but when I was sleep deprived, do you think I could have thought of doing it!!!! I also use radio static a lot, especially when he is over tired or doesn't think that he is tired but I know he is. It works a treat. Always sends him off to sleep. Great too for those car trips when your bub's start crying and you have some where to go.

Kel- Tried the cruskits, Tobi had a good old suck. I think they will be a hit.

Tobi has really been stressing me out this week. It has now been three weeks since he decided that he wont eat solids and now he doesn't seem too fussed on boobie either. He is starting to lose weight and his nappies aren't as full as they usually are. Poos are runny. He's very grumpy. He has no teeth coming through. And he had a temperature on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but all good now. The doctors just tell me that he looks happy, which he does, but I keep thinking that he is trying to tell me something. We are going to do a urine sample just to be sure. Though I have decided to stop trying to push the solids and go back to just boobie for a week and then try again from the start. It is so confusing and it makes you so tired having a sookie baby.
On a good note though, we went to Gymbaroo yesterday and Tobi loved it. He loved seeing all the other babies and playing with Mum. I didn't realise how expensive it was though. Its a good thing Tobi enjoys playing with the other babies, otherwise I could do the dances etc. at home with him. We have finally found a playgroup just for babies at our local library. They do rhymes, songs and fingerplays!!! So I am looking forward to that, plus its free.

Anyway, Munchkin is asleep so I might have some quiet time myself, I am exhausted.
Hope you all have a great weekend.
Take Care
Tash

Is it the Pantley book? Doesn't work. It's pants. I can only pat DS to sleep if he's very sleepy and he's on his tummy - patting the chest doesn't work, only the back and bum (I need both hands going). I also need to pat for at least a minute. If I even tried to count to 30 he would be in distress meltdown so I couldn't pat back to sleep. If he's not tired enough I have to pick him up and rock him to sleep. We have a great sleepy CD I use for DS: sends me off like a treat too!

I did get him back down twice last night without feeding, but that was in my arms. Only 2 feeds overnight! Have to keep that going for a bit.

ETA: I keep forgetting to brag! On Wednesday lunchtime DS said "Mum mum mum". I am so proud! He can say Dad and Mum now, although he prefers to say Dad still.

hi hi
jemima said mum last week too!!! she doesnt do dad dadadada dad very much but she says bab abababa baba and also screams like a horny cowgirl!

she has really gone off her food kinda..... i dont get it..... i think she is fussy pants like her daddy..... she laps up farex but not any other cereals for brekky, is picky with fruit kinda but loves yogurt, pity i cant feed her yogurt every meal..... could have to do with teething as she is freaking out about what is going on in her mouth the 3 new teeth are all coming down fast but at different rates of fast, she keeps doing weird things with her tounge it is so cute......

this sleeping thing.... ryn...... when jemima did the sleeping through thing months ago she dropped feeds all of a sudden and every so often when she sleeps through NOW it is a draggingit out thing... so both ways work. at the moment (last night and night before) jemima is waking at 8.30pm or 9pm for a feed then 10.30 - 11pm for a play!!! NOT COOL so last night we didnt feed her at 11pm and tried to get her to sleep (we probably let her wake up too much) then eventually let her "cry" for maybe 30mins not even and she got herself to sleep, i could tell the difference between the "i am starving feed me" cry and "where are my slaves i'd like a midnight snack" cry we were SO close to caving in but that last time when benji was at the door ready to go in she went to sleep!!!

good luck with pubert, it will be hard for you coz he is so used to waking up! i dont really find the patting to sleep thing works with jemima, it just reminds her i am there and makes her wonder why she should go to sleep without me cuddling her....

i got a new friend one of the mums from swimming and her baby harrison is having 1st birthday next week AND she is 4 weeks away from having a baby girl.... which she is probably naming JEMIMA how weird is that!!!

cruskits rock.... gives me another 10 mins if I need to distract the girl she feels so big and important nibbling away, and the arrowroots are working now that she can nibble too, and banana but that too messy

is anyone else feeding baby porridge for brekky???

ps - someone was saying about feeling 'guilty' or whateva about can food in the trolley! that so funny and so weird!!! i feel kinda the same but it is so much easier and the girl seems to love some of the weird chicken noodle or lamb and vege stuff the stuff that looks like condensed soup and the apples and pears are SO much easier than making at home i have heard that you dont get a lot of pear puree from a kilo of pears and i can get baby can pear for 68cents from aldi!!! the aldi food is heinz but called baby love i think and it looks the same but doesnt say heinz, and the apple has only vitamin c added to it no sugar or anything.
egg custard is a winner for dessert also from a can and the pasta bologanaise made by the "only organic" company is my 'backup' i know she will eat it no matter what and it has veges and pasta in it so that is probably the best thing she eats! garden vege soup is also a winner that is by heinz but in a bigger tin so doesnt look like baby food heehehe
this guy laughed at me in the grocery store the other day coz i was having a full on 'discussion' with jemima about what was in the different tins, one was banana custard with choc one was fruit saladd and she ended up with the steak and vege can in her hands to play with for the rest of the shopping trip, she chose it but we havent eaten it yet as benji doesnt want her having steak like that, he wants her to wait andhave the real deal on her plate like a big girl... i guess she is getting enough teeth that that could work......

i got jem weighed on her 8 month birthday and she is 8.2kg!!! which means she is in the middle between the 50th line and the 75th line for weight so i reckon she will be back on the 75th line for her 9 month birthday maybe?? just gotta get more food into her, have almost introduced an afternoon tea time with as much food as dinner time but not sure yet..... only coz she doesnt eat thatmuch for 'lunch'

pps - tash i hope you find something to help with tobi!!! keep going to different doctors..... i had to go to 3 before i got the correct diagnoses for jemima's virus a couple of weeks ago.... which is not cool coz the virus was highly contagious and i had been lots of places with babies so felt awful but no other kids got it or they didnt tell me!

Kel - Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better. They say you should follow your gut instincts and mine is saying that something is up. He is trying to tell me something, I just don't know what. We gave Tobi some steak the other night to chew on. We were having steak strips, so it was easy just to cook up and give he his own. He loved it. A friend's doctor said that it is the best was to get their iron...by sucking out the meat juices. I weighed Tobi the other day. He is 8.4kg. What was Jemima when she was born? Tobi was 3.695kg.
Ryn - The book I was talking about is Lora Jensen's 3 day Sleep Training. I am sorry to hear the patting thing doesn't work for you guys. I really hope you find something soon. Have you thought about going to one of those Day Centres where they watch your routine etc. Tobi and I went to one a few weeks back and I found it really helpful.
Us - I didn't offer any solids to Tobi yesterday and he was fine and slept through still. I think I will only give him three days and then try the solids again. Maybe I gave him food poisoning or something?? Babies are so confusing.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Take Care
Tash

Tash... Harrison went of his food a while back... and my ECHN told me to keep offering it to him, a big part of eating is in the offering... so we continued to offer him foods, and when we knew he wasn't interested, we'd take them away... he slowly started to have some little bits again, now, he eats anything and everything.

Harrison eats the Heinz Gel's as his treats. We're like you Kel, we show them to him and let him chose which one he wants lol. He usually has 1/2 a jar after lunch, and 1/2 after dinner... I make all his other foods... I just find it easy because we eat vegies all the time, and we have meat, chicken, fish etc also... If I know I am going to be adding loads of garlic or too much spices, I take Harry's foods out first. I then blend it slightly with my magic bullet thingy, and he loves it... he doesn't like totally mashed up foods... he gags if it is too mashed... so it needs to have lumpy bits in it!! lol

Ohhh.... I have an update!!!
Today, Harrison started to stand unaided!!! Wow!!! He looks way too little... he has done it a few times today. I will try to capture him doing it either on video or just a pic asap!!! His aunts and uncles and grandparents are going to be thrilled to bits :) :happyforyou:

how cool, harrison is going to be walking in no time! i have heard the babies with older siblings do move earlier, mainly to keep up!

tash - jemima was 3795grams when born and 57cm, the reason i guess i get 'worried' about her weight is because she is still so so tall i have not got her measured this month but she was about 72cmish last month. never be afraid to get a second opinion, you would hate yourself if you did nothing when there could have been something you could easily do to make your little boy happier.

Lol Kel... I am quite happy to have Harrison stay a non walker for a while... he gets away too fast now, god help me when he is walking!!
Jamie started to walk at 9 months, so I kinda thought Harrison might start around that time too... Madeleine didn't start to walk until 1 week before her 1st birthday. As I said, I am in no rush to have Harrison walking just yet!!! lol
Ohhh... my sister Nicole started to walk at 6 months... I remember my Pop telling my Mum not to let her walk because she would have problems with her legs... but she was fine, its not like Mum could stop her anyway!! lol

LISA _ Geepers, walking at 6 months is totally insane! Your sister is obviously a genuis! That's amazing. I bet you're parents were thrilled to have her so 'forward'. WTG Harrison on standing un-aided, that's a BIG achievement!

SMYLIE _ Is Jemima all over her virus now? I was nodding my head in agreement about taking her to 3 doctor's before somebody told you she had a virus. Claudia has double ear infections AGAIN! This is her 7th ear infection, plus she has bronchitis & also conjunctivitis. DH is in China & Jessica is also unwell. I'd taken her to the doctor's 3 times in 3 days & the last time I sat down & just burst into tears. I've never cried so much in my life. I've been up all freaking night with the both kids sick for the last 5 nights. Finally they are sending us off to an ear nose & throat specialist to get her ears sorted. DH has had 13 operations on his ears & one of which they removed the total ear from his head, reconstructed the inner ear & re-attached. I just can't believe it took this long for them to realise that Claudia is going the same way that her Daddy did! GRRRR. My mum came & stayed for 2 nights to help me with the girls, which was good & bad. Claudia cried all night with her sore ears saying 'oh dad-dad, my dad-dad' which really annoyed me because Alan has NEVER got up to her in the night & he isn't even HERE! I've got some ear drops & cotton wool in her ears, antibiotics & nurofen every 6 hours & have to sleep her up on a pillow so that her head is higher to help her ears & also the bronchitis.

TASHIE _ I haven't heard of that sleep book, but I got one with Jessica by a Dana Obleman off the net, which sounds very similar. I have to stop the night feeds with Claudia too, but with her being so ill, today is the first time she's eaten since Tuesday & she is absolutley starving, but won't eat anything so I'm having ot feed her during the night. My boobs are like they were when she was newborn - totally bulging!!! It's insane. I've had to start wearing breast pads again! At least I know she isn't getting dehydrated. They were putting her into hospital but didn't because she was so well hydrated. Thank god, I have no idea what I would have done with Jessica. I have to admit, the patting to sleep doesn't work with Claudia. Unless I feed her to sleep, she grizzles going to sleep no matter what I do & I find she only grizzles for 3 minutes to the dot when I put her into her cot but she can scream over my shoulder or in my arms until she's asleep. So usually once she starts getting fussy I put her into her cot & she grizzles until she is comfy & then goes off to sleep. I'm finding since she's been sick she has stopped the 30 minute cat naps too. She's sleeping at least an hour at a time which is beautiful. I'll have to google that book though for when Claudia is better so I can stop her feeding overnight, she doesn't need it once she is well.

CHRISTIE _ Do you want to swap babies for a while so I can get some sleep? LMAO.

ME/US _ Well we are having a really crappy time of it. Both kids are sick, Alan's in China, I've got really sore sinuses, but such is life isn't it? We are slowly getting there. Claudia has eaten somethign today which makes me happy. I"m up all night feeding her because she's hungry, my boobs are almost exploding. It's insane. At least I know my milk is still good! The antitbiotics are making a diff with her & Jessica' eyes are slowly clearing up. Hopefully tomorrow we are well enough to go to playgroup. I'm going insane being home all the time!

Love Jayne

Jayne :hugs: you poor thing! Is there some way you could stay at Tresillian or Karitane for a few days to get some rest? They could probably help you settle a sick baby.

Way to go Harrison!!! That's awesome! El has just started pulling herself up from Sunday. Crawling properly too, for 2 weeks now.

El has no reflux anymore, that cleared up with a change of formula and was fully gone when she got over her two colds. She is eating well but doesn't always finish a bottle and/or food but when she's had enough, I stop.

Gotta go xxx

MUMMYCATE _ We don't have Karitane here, it's Ngala, & it has been a thought, but I have Jessica as well who is a little bit temperamental with Daddy being gone. I'll work through it. My sister just bought me around some Panamax because my head is aching so bad today that I've been in tears. I sat outside with the kids in the fresh air for an hour which did wonders as well. I've just put Claudy to bed & Jessica is watching Alice in Wonderland & looks as though she's going to drop off too, so I"m going to lay down as well. WTG on the crawling! What a clever chicken! Do you freak about the pulling to stand? we have sunken rooms that Claudia is pulling herself up on & I'm scared she's going to fall & hit her face on the step. That's awesome with El & the reflux going away, that's a load off your mind!

Hope everybody is enjoying their weekend.

Jayne

OMG sunken rooms arrgh! Scary. We watched her pull herself up and were so proud. We have a lot of low surfaces so pulling up isn't a problem as we'd already proofed it from crawling. I hope that you work things out soon. Maybe you could have someone pop over each day for an hour or so so you could get some time to yourself and go for a walk or lie down.

Hi girls,
Guess what??? Tobi had some dinner last night. Yay!! So fingers crossed his little starvation diet is over. He has been feeling heaps better too which is a relief. Who knows what he had. Thanks though for all your support and guidance.

Jayne - I feel so bad for complaining about Tobi now, it sounds like you have been having a really bad time with both of your girls sick and being on your own too. How are they both feeling now? How long till your DH gets home? Have you tried putting phone books or similar under the mattress up the head end to help raise the bed. We do that when Tobi has a blocked nose to help drain out all the goo. It has always helped him fell better. I hope the specialist can help and Claudia wont get sick so much. Unfortunately Tresillian etc. wont take your babies if they are sick. They only deal with sleeping and routine problems. I guess they need to think about the other kids there too. Though I am sure there is probably a Nanny or Nurse system out there somewhere that would come and stay with you if you are having problems with a sick baby. I should suss that out for next time my hubby goes away and if Tobi gets really sick. But like you, even when DH is home, I do everything anyway.... I am glad to hear that you have relatives close by at least.

Catherine - I just realised you live at Ryde. I live at North Strathfield, we should catch up sometime.

Lisa - That is fantastic about Harrison. He is such a clever little guy.

Kel - Jemima is tall isn't she. Are you and Benji tall? Tobi was only 50.5cm, but we are both only average height. As someone else said the other day, they need all types of babies to make up the averages, so I wouldn't worry too much about how she fits into the graphs, as long as she is happy, eating and going to the loo, I wouldn't worry too much. And hey, we don't want to have huge babies either. She might be one of these lucky girls that gets to be tall and skinny. I wish I was that lucky.

Us - Tobi started swimming lessons yesterday and loved it. DH came in the water too, so he was showing off for his Daddy. They was only one other baby there and he loved it too, so I am sure that helped. My Mum is coming down for a few days this week, which isn't as good as it sounds. Though I am hoping if DH doesn't end up going away as expected this weekend, that we might be able to go out and leave Grandma to babysit. Its our 3rd wedding anniversary next week, so fingers crossed we get to go out.

Hope you all have a good week.
Take Care
Tash and Tobi

KEL _ WOW Jemima is a very long & lean little bubba isn't she? having 56cm of bubba in your tummy must have been mighty uncomfortable. Jemima seems to be the 'in' name at the moment, maybe you started the trend?? I've heard of a few bubs here in Perth named Jemima recently.

TASHIE _ Claudia ate last night too! YAY for both of us!! LOL & she ate today! Incredible! Thanks for the sleep book, I"m going to read it tonight, lots of it is stuff I had heard of before, it's just trying to have the patience to stand there & pat them at 2am for an hour when you know that putting them on your boob is going to have them back asleep in 30 seconds. I perservered last night for 90 minutes & it didn't work until I picked her up & walked her around the house for a while until she calmed down & then I put her back into bed, gave her a pat & she slept for another 4 hours. She didn't wake until 9am this morning, god that was great! Don't feel bad complaining about Tobi, we all have our hurdles that we have to jump & I just seem to name all of them! LOL.

MUMMYCATE _ It is a proud moment watching your child cross another milestone off their development books, but sad at the same time! Claudia is into pulling herself up on Jessica so she can pull her hair. I find it funny, Jessica doesn't.

ME _ Well finally we were all well enough to venture out today. My goodness it was bliss. We went to playgroup, came home for some lunch & the girls had a sleep & then we went over to my sisters for a play. It was great. My DH is coming home on Friday now, instead of mid-November so I'm pumping Jessica up for the excitement of going to the airport & getting Daddy off the plane. I'm going to make a day of it & take the girls up there earlier so we can have lunch & Mummy can check out the duty free. LOL.

Love Jayne

Jayne, yeah go shopping! Sounds like it'll be the best day! Its just taken ages to settle El to sleep, she needed a top-up.

Long time no chat.... Hi all!

I have just spent 15 min catching up on everyone's goings on and luckily have very little sage advice to impart, 'cos I'm sure I'd forget who said what on what day!!!

So I'll just give an update on us if thats OK, if a little self-indulgent!

Actually, we have several bits of massive news....

1.(the most exciting for DH and I).... Monkey has learnt to go to sleep in her cot!

I should clarify that its with us sitting beside her with 1 hand in with her (on chest, holding hand, chewing on my finger etc....!). Until now, we had been rocking/walking/bouncing on ball/feeding etc.... her to sleep; sometimes a very long and tiring process. But she just kind of let us know she was getting too big and uncomfortable in our arms and so we tried it in the cot and it worked!!! I don't care that we can't yet leave before she's asleep or any of that stuff, it's just huge that getting her to sleep isn't so physically draining on us! And there has been no crying - a must for us - if she does lose it on occasion we just pick her up and do the old stuff again, but generally she's getting herself to sleep in 10-20 min - YAY.

2. Talking has commenced! Lots of ba-ba, bla-bla, a few other sounds that are heading toward ma-ma and da-da. And it goes on ALL day!! I just love it and am totally not sick of it! She's even starting to modify baba to by-by and using it in context with a wave when she hears us say bye on the phone or to each other etc....!

3. Not crawling, but getting way more active and closer to crawling every day. We are going to have to baby-proof soon! and keep saying every night that we should really put her cot to the lower level now... better get to it, we are such lazy parents sometimes!

Monkey's menu is continuing to expand and you'll all be glad to hear that my obsession with what she should and shouldn't have is subsiding!! She had some kiwifruit today and loved it. Though she hasn't been as keen on the salmon I've tried a couple of times.

For those asking about b'fast options - we do weetbix with fruit and water. I blend up heaps of w/bix in the processor in advance and just keep them in tupperware, saves me crushing up each day, then I choose either apple/pear/banana/blueberries/prunes etc.. to mix in. I was giving her Bellamy's baby porridge which she loved, but couldn't find it anywhere for several days so just made the switch and she loves it.

She still eats very variable amounts, but then this is the story for every meal. She can do anywhere from 3 mouthfuls up to about a 1/4 cup of food in a sitting. I'm not that bothered; she's drinking more water now its a bit hotter and is still very much a boobie girl. We still average 5 feeds per day - a good day is 4 in the day and 1 overnight, but of course this is highly negotiable with the boss (ie. not me)!!!

In other news, my Saturday job is going well; DH is still bringing her to me for a morning feed then we are making do and holding out for the afternoon feed. They are having a great time together and most weeks are going swimming in the afternoons. Plus, I just got a new job to start next Jan - 2x 5hr days, 10 min from home - absolutely perfect!! Am very excited about it, plus will also be working with one of my best friends, extra bonus!

I hope this hasn't been too long and arduous...... and just quickly.....

Lisa, glad that you are starting to feel a little "better" (I know that's not really the right word.....)

Jayne, I am thinking of you.... can't imagine how hard life must be.... you always sound like an amazingly strong person in your posts.... just keep getting through each day like you are and I hope those days get easier.....

Tashie and Catherine, I live in Ryde too...... and am a big slacko..... need to organise to catch up with Catherine soon..... you should join us. Maybe next week... I am terribly IT challenged and can't even remember how we got each others numbers, as I'm not too keen to pop it up here; she'll remember!

Oh and absolutely my last thing.... Monkey still has NO teeth! Are we the only ones.....??????

jemima and quinn are just freak children with their gazillion teeth..... i hate it coz i never know if there is actually something wrong with jemima or if she has MORE teeth coming
if i get one more screaming ear pulling fit i am going to the doc to make sure it is not an ear infection poor love, i hate that real true pain scream

i have half a kitchen, a very nice kitchen bench and some cupboards without doors. my hubby (the mechanic) did the sink and mixer tap and moved all the plumbing so i am very very proud of him, it is all closer to finally being finished so can pretend i am a housewife and mother for real and make some food for my baby and my husband!

yippee for cot sleeping monkey, you guys must be exhausted of 8 months of getting baby to sleep on you.... but now i think about it we do the same thing! but jem just needs a cuddle and she sucks her fingers and she is out.... not a long process so i guess that is why i havent bothered trying her to sleep without us.... she did at my friends place today though in my friends bub 2 be's cot but i just find it easier to wait til she is basically asleep in my arms and put her in the cot.....

Hi girls!

I have sleep woes so won't talk sleep - Liebs eats protein for dinner he won't sleep, I have a bite of chocolate he won't sleep... enough!

I love hearing how clever all our babies are. I'm so proud of all of them! Liebs told me "A-ah, I've a cute bum!" in the bath Sat night... well, it sounded like that. And he does have a cute bum! Still hairy... are any other babies still carrying a bit of the fur from birth?

We're on a new page so I forget what to say, but I do cheer every time I hear a new achievement, it's so exciting! Give all the clever little loves a hug from me and tell them they're super-special.

Hi girls. This is a really really really quick one because we have to leave for swimming soon and I'm having a selfish "all about me" moment! ARGH!

Firstly, and very exciting, Bella can get herself sitting up from being on her tummy now! She started doing it a few days ago, and is soooo proud of herself when she does it! If she wants something, she'll roll to it (like a barrell roll!), she tucks her legs under, then sort of pushes herself up sideways or sort of on an angle. VERY cute! Oh, and we can now see her new tooth rather than just having to feel it now too!

Not sure if I have posted on here since it happened, but last Wed I put my back out at the gym. I was in absolute AGONY and could hardly move! Anyway, I'm almost back to normal and am going back Thursday for one more back-fixing session and after that I should be fine. Let's hope so! DH had to stay home from work on Thursday because I couldn't lift Bella. To make matters worse, I've got some bug thing. I was up at midnight last night throwing up, and even better, I had it coming out both ends (not at the same time, thank god!). It's just been GREAT!!!

Better go - Bri is ready for school! Have a great day!

MICHELLE _ OMG you poor sausage, are you ok now? Was it something that you ate that made you ill? I hope you're ok now. Luckily you're back is on the mend, imagine trying to bend over & puke while you're back was out. LOL, sorry. Did you go to a chiro to help with your back? You're a good girl even going to the gym (mental note to self - must get on treadmill tonight). What a clever girl Bella is! I love the barrel rolling. That's hysterical. I love babies doing that!

SMYLIE _ I'm the queen of ear infections at the moment (with 7 up my belt with Claudia) so ....... does Jemima tilt her head to one side or bang her ear while she is crying? Does she have some white discharge out her ear? Does she have a temp? They are the 3 things I look for with Claudy with a ear infection, I soooo hope she doesn't have one, but please get it checked because with little ones sometimes it goes 'too' far before we realise what's up & then it's harder to get rid of it. WTG on the kitchen, what a clever man you have! When you are making all your gourmet recipes can you send some my way???

KYM _ Awww, shucks, I just do what I can. YES it's been hard but would I change them for the world? NOPE! Absolutely not. I try & be very upbeat & happy & positive in my posts because a lot of the time I need to feel that for myself or else I'd be a wreck I think. There is light at the end of the tunnel, the antibiotics are working & both girls have been happier than they've been in weeks the last 2 days, I'm getting Claudia to sleep longer both day & night & I feel as though I'm on top of things in the house. WOW, you have a clever chicken progressing with the words & how adorable with the 'bye bye'. Awesome with Monkey & the cot, that's a great improvement & YAY for you & the working! I bet it's a nice feeling to be out in the working world. How awesome is your man for bringing Monkey in to be fed & taking her for a swim! Too cute!

MUMMYYCATE _ don't you wish they came with a fuel gauge that you can easily check to see if they need a top up or they're just being difficult!!! Glad to hear that El eventually went down for you.

TASHIE _ How are you honey? Thanks for the book, I have read it, Claudia is not big on the patting during the day, but it helps during the night, I do have to get her up & give her a huggle though & then put her back & pat her to sleep the rest of the way, I'm sure she'll get there. The last two nights have improved so much already.

ME/US _ Well DH Is coming home Thursday now but I have to say, I"m kinda pipped because I had plans on Thursday. LOL. I know it sounds selfish, but I've enjoyed the time with the girls on my own, I feel as though I'm more in control because I don't have anybody questioning me with what I'm doing with the girls, just little things like if Claudia is getting fussy & I say to Alan that she's getting tired he will say 'are you sure, she just woke up not long ago' so then I'll think 'hmmm is she really tired or is it something else' I know that's a stupid scenario but the girls have been happier the last 48 hours than they have in weeks. They are both getting better day by day, although they both cough all night long but they are bright, happy & cheery during the day. I stopped feeding Claudia overnight two nights ago, the first night it took me 90 minutes to get her back down & last night only 20 minutes. She has a habit of waking up at 1am on the dot, both times she has gone back to sleep until 6:30 & she is up for an hour feeding & just lying with me & then she's going back to bed at 7:30 until 9am. It's pure bliss. They are both going to bed late atm - 9pm so that Alan can talk to them on skype. But the sleep ins are bliss! But anyway, Alan is home Thursday so yes, that's exciting & all that, but I had prepared myself to not see him until mid-Nov. I just can't wait to see Jess' face when she sees him. She keeps on telling me she's going to run & jump & daddy will pick me up & twirl me around like a princess. Too cute!

Well I'm off to bed! Night nights.

Love Jayne

Jayne - I don't know if I am overly emotional at the moment but when I read that your man is coming back so much earlier I got all teary LOL and then I read your post today and it cracked me up hehehe I know what you mean about doubting your lil decisions with the kids when there's someone else around. I do that all the time too.

Michelle - it sounds like you're falling apart at the moment. When it rains it pours hey!! I hope you're feeling better.

Ryn - you asked about fur. Well my DS doesn't have too much ... never did, but my DD, now 2.5 was born hairy and still has some dark hair. Its not heavily matted or anything :P (other people probably wouldn't notice) but there are some fine dark hairs on her upper back and she definately needs some eyebrow pluckage LOL

Sleep update- All but DH came down with a cold and DS is no longer sleeping through the night :( He's suffering severe sniffles and has a cough at the same time as teething, poor thing. He's not a happy chappy. I tried adding the phone book under his mattress last night (thanks for the idea Tashie) but what did I find when I went back in to check on him? He was all curled up down the bottom of the bed. He wriggles about so much I never find him in the same spot so I don't know why I thought that would work but it was worth a shot. I think sometimes its good for your own sanity to know that you're doing all you can...

Whilst on the wriggling subject, does anyone use blankets with their lil ones? I just dress DS up in warmer clothes because I know he'll wriggle out from anything I put over him.

Happy Hump Day
~Chris

Hi everyone,
Has been ages since I've posted but I've been keeping up to date.
We have a house of exhaustion over here, DP has been in bed with gastro and I have been looking after him and Quinn, luckily Quinn and I don't have it (which makes me suspect it's actually food poisoning)

Re: blankets, I use blankets, Quinn kicks them off before he goes to sleep and I go in when he falls asleep and put them back on, but I always dress him in a warm suit.

all of the babies are doing lots of fun stuff, it's such a great age :) Quinn is still commando crawling everywhere, he sits up and has almost got the gist of clapping, he loves standing up and bouncing on anything he can bounce on, he loves Gymbaroo and Little Feet music class, dances and yells and plays with instruments! It's so cute.

Anyway I better go, I need to clean the house a bit while Quinn is asleep.

CHRISTIE _ I've had the same predicament just lately on whether I perservere with the blankets or put a heater on low to keep the room warm or just dress warmer??? Sorry to hear the phone book doesn't help, do you have a vaporiser that you could put in his room at night? Baby Balsam on his chest? I have been told that putting it on their feet & then putting socks on does wonders. I haven't triend it myself just yet. Oh & with the eyebrow plucking, both my girls have got picture perfect eyebrows & lashes. They are both beautiful, I hope their eyebrows hold that shape because they are just stunning if I do say so myself! LOL.

RYN _ Jessica was born a hairy ape. She had it all over her ears, back, shoulders & butt. She is still quite hairy but it's a very light colour so nobody but us really notices it. I used to threaten I'd take her for waxing when she was 4 weeks old. LOL. Loving Liebs telling you that he has a cute bum. If you've got it flaunt it!

ME _ Went to swimming today. Claudia couldn't get into the creche quick enough, it was hysterical. She had a whale of a time, so much so she crashed in the car on the way home (less than 2 minute drive). Jessica had a wonderful time swimming, it's going to be interesting tomorrow when it's her who has to go in the creche while Claudia swims. & OMG is everybody ready for this CLAUDIA SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! She slept from 9pm - 6am then back to bed at 6:30 after a monstorous feed & didn't wake again until 8:24am!!!!!! God I feel like a new woman!

Christie - Harrison has a sheet and i dress him warmer because he is a worm and ends up at the other end of his cot, across the cot!!! he is a restless sleeper like me. We've had to start putting the sides right up for Harry now because he tries to climb out... he gets the actions right too which is scary! Now, he holds onto the top rail and swings!!! Cheeky boy he is!

Way to go Claud!!! Glad you're feeling better Jayne.

El is sick again. She appears to have a tummy bug as I have one. She's been vomiting her milk and being very clingy and unsettled. Hopefully it passes soon. We're giving her 50ml bottles at a time. At least 20min in between "doses". So 50ml, 20min, 50ml, 20 min, 50ml for 3-4 lots of 50ml then a break for a couple of hours. So far she's kept down 8 scoops, that's 400ml. Half the daily measure. She's had some water too.

Crawling is going well, and she pulling herself up to her knees.

MUMMYCATE _ Bugger that El is sick, the poor little chicken. I hope that she perks up soon. If she is vomiting so much, maybe just let her sip water. I also find that if I sit in the bottom of the shower with Claudia on my shoulder & aim the shower head so it's on her back that it settles her right now & she becomes less fussy. I hope that she is better soon. Thinking of you.

Love Jayne

That's a good idea Jayne, maybe I'll do that tomorrow. She has been sipping water and she hasn't vomited that much today. She vomited this morning and a little this afternoon but that's it. And she's been a grumpy bum all day. Napping quite a bit too. She has a very mild fever which I'm keeping an eye on. She's had probably 150ml water and 500ml formula today. So she's not dehydrating I don't think. She'll be ok.