Babies Born ~ July 1st-15th 2009 #2

[jetta2022]

It'd be great if you ladies could tell me how long you LO's are staying up for during the day. For the last month or so Ash has been up for about 2 hours before I put him down for a nap, but I'm beginning to think that maybe he needs to stay up a bit longer cos he can be really difficult to settle at the moment (could just be the wrapping thing though). The problem is that I think he gets bored and that is why he gets grizzly after about an hour and half. I make a point of us going out somewhere each day, even if it is just up to the shops or for a walk. When we're home he plays on his playmat (but gets pretty bored of that after awhile), then I will play with him for awhile, he'll have a swing, but then that's about all we have to do. I have been thinking of buying him one of those jumper/playtable things (Jasp I think you might have one for Arlea). They look like they would be quite entertaining, but they're a bit pricey and bulky (we have very little storage) and I don't want to get one if it's something he'll get sick of quickly...

We got the Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo on ebay for $100 and they normally retail for $198 or something, there are quite a lot on there. He loves it and it is great.

As far as awake time is concerned, Sam only really lasts 1 1/2 hours. Sometimes in the arvo 2 hours but once he gets to 2 1/2 hours he is over it and really hard to settle so I try to make sure it is before that time. 1 1/2 hours though is really all he takes and he starts getting grizzly then and is quite easy to settle if I get him to bed around then. I use to think he was getting bored but I tried pushing it more and it didn't work.

Anyway better go, he has been at the shops all day and barely slept so having trouble at present!! Good luck with the wrapping, sounds like he still needs it a little bit but definately sounds like he is improving and getting use to it more.

Heva- I will have a read of your b/f link and see if I can offer any support.

[ss_storm]

Thanks girls, I am so excited about moving..maybe a little too excited as I already have about 5 boxes packed. They are only small ones, but still...lol.

Hayley usually lasts 1.5 - 2 hours before it's sleep time again, although she has gone as short as 1hr and as long as 2.5-3 hours (that's if we are out shopping, she might have a short sleep in her pram but I don;t really count that!). She has been fairly good the last few days, having three sleeps each 1.5 to 2 hours each and has started sleeping better through the night again (thank god!).
She has worked out how to squiggle backwards, she ended up halfway across the loungeroom yesterday!

Better go, it's windy as here today and need to get the washing in before it blows to Sydney!

[lovelycate]

wow, another busy week in here!

Miss E - Zac is up for 2-3 hours these days and then only sleeps for 45 mins, maybe 1.5 hours if I'm lucky... he may or may not want/need a feed as soon as he gets up. Early in his awake time is a good time for me to get stuff done as he is generally fairly happy playing by himself and just keeping an eye on me, but as the time goes by I need to get more interactive as he gets bored and frustrated. Sometimes I find that I can 'park' him on a mat or in his rocker next to a window and he will quite happily zone out for a while and just gaze out the window.

heather - you must be feeling pretty stressed! The only thing I can think of different to what others have said already is whether you've eaten anything different recently which may have affected the taste of your milk? Definitely ring the ABA help line (1800 Mum2Mum) - 24 hours, and they are absolutely awesome - I've rung them a couple of times when I was having BF problems and they were just so amazingly supportive and helpful

jetta - I think you've definitely got to be ready to stick to it once you start solids! There's not too much involved in mixing up farex but I guess it snowballs from there... Zac has been having some farex in the mornings for the last ten days or so, and he is really getting into it - opening his mouth for the spoon as soon as he sees it :-)
What sort of sleeping bags did you get?

AFM - had the 4 month needles on Tuesday. He was so good, but definitely had a bit of a reaction to them - he was quite out of sorts, grizzly and hard to settle, and got very hot red cheeks. We gave him some panadol at bedtime and he had a lovely sleep and seemed to be back to his usual cheery self in the morning, although today he has been a bit grumbly again, so I'm not sure if there's still a little reaction going on.

We have been trying the Aldi nappies lately, but I'm thinking they're a bit of a false economy...continuing to use them until they're finished, but using Huggies overnight again after a few very wet nights in the Aldi nappies! I'm not sure whether it's partly because the Aldi ones cover a broader weight range - atm Zac is in the same size as his 9-week old cousin! The next size up is 'toddler' which doesn't seem right...

[Calluna]

sloane - thanks for hugs , I haven't heard from barb or mantaray as everyone said I should, how long do they usually take to reply? Should I bump it?

Miss E - I don't think I'll be any help to you re time spent awake as DS is so all over the place due to lack of feeding. He doesn't eat so he wont sleep and he wont sleep cause he wont eat although after posting yesterday he was much better and actually had a couple of decent-ish feeds. I swear he can read my thoughts.

SS - at least your not leaving it to the last minute Just don't burn youself out.

Cate - I thought it could be something like that, but I don't think my diets changed at all, although my FIL has moved in recently and he does the majority of the cooking, maybe he's putting something in I'm not aware of?
I've recently started going to the gym. I wonder if that could be related?
We use the aldi nappies and I love them, we go through about a pack a week. We tried the huggies ones once but they just didnt fit and he was well within the weight range. But every child is different, so each to thier own. I do remember reading somewhere that someone thought the aldi nappies had changed and were less absorbant, but I don't know, I haven't noticed a difference. Isaac has been in the crawler size since he was about 2 months old, I think and they still fit fine.
Hope Zac is feeling better today.

AFM - Isaac fed and slept much better yesterday,IDKW? Nothing changed I dont think. It always seems to be that whenever I post anything about him he changes it. I swear he can read my mind. I was thinking maybe his feeding problems are related to me having started at the gym. WDYT?
We bought a Jolly Jumper yesterday. When I worked in a nursery the kids loved it so I thought we'd give it a go. We're going to get the stand alone frame thing today so it doesnt have to go on the doorways and we can put it where we want. The only problem is DF wont let me get it out and try him in it before christmas. I'm so desperate to see if he likes it. He loves standing and jumping on my knee so I think were onto a winner.
Thanks to everyone for your support yesterday, I was feeling so crappy, and it made me feel so much better to know that you guys are here to help

Have a lovely day everyone

[jetta2022]

Lovelycate- we got the merino kids ones. They are double the price of gro bags but the gro bag ones are 0-6 mths, merino kids are 0-2 years so I figure I would have had to have bought new ones soon anyway. The gro bag ones also have different tog ratings for different temps and becuase his rooms is so hot, the merino ones are 18-30 degress which means you just know they will be fine. Merino wool meant to help if he sweats but keep him warm as well. You can buy two as a bundle and they are around $140 each but I think that becuase you can use them for 2 years they are worth it.
Sam was definately grumpy for a few days and very unhappy when going to sleep etc after the needles.

Heva5 - I just read your link and big hugs. I can't imagine how stressful that would be. I am a first time mum so don't have much advice for you. You asked about the exercise. I have been back at the gym twice a week and walking a fair bit and I have read in books that they use to think that exercise could affect your milk but this book - what to expect the first year seems to say that it doesn't. I totally agree with calling the breasfeeding help line. I have rung them when I was first breast feeding and they are so helpful. They also respond quite quickly to emails you send through as well (normally within24 hours). Hang in there, you are doing a great job of feeding him and doing your best and it must be very stressful and hard going when he won't feed.

SS Storm - how funny about the wriggling! I am still waiting for Sam to start rolling again, he is almost there from back to tummy and this morning when having tummy time did this weird thing like he was trying to squirm forward!!

We have had real success with 2 full nights in sleeping bags with both arms out and he has slept through whole night! We went to the shops yesterday and I tried to get him to have a sleep in the pram, put seat back and muslin wrap over it and he went bananas!! hated not being able to see. Ended up falling asleep while I had lunch with a girfriend sitting up so at least that was something! SooOOOOO hard not to crazy with the present buying!! So many things I want to buy him for the pool and to play with!!

Hope you are all well and enjoy your weekend!!

[sloane]

heather - i bumped it! i hope they see it soon! it might be to do with the gym - i know they say that exercise can have an affect on supply but i thought it needed to be some very hardcore exercising, if that makes sense? it might just be a phase though - hopefully today will be another better day! i also noticed that when AF came back that DS gets fussier but it's not for 2 weeks & he still feeds, just goes on & off & whinges during a feed so it doesn't sound the same.

miss e - prob not much help here either because corey just doesn't want to sleep much during the day at all. i do notice that he is generally tired within 2 hours or so of waking, sometimes a bit longer but often a bit less at the start of the day. the jumper play table thingys look great, we might have to look into one as well!

afm, still trying to work out the best plan of attack for day sleeps! i try not to stress about it & just go with the flow...but i'd be happier to do that if there was something that worked! most of the time he feeds to sleep, which would be fine by me if it always worked i would like him to sleep for more than a total of an hour a day though!

[Calluna]

Hi lovely ladies,
I'm about to go to bed so I'll be quick, Just thought I'd let you know I've just posted up my birth story for anyone that's interested.

[ss_storm]

Great story Heather!

Just waiting for Hayley to go back to sleep after a feed, she is being pretty quiet so I think she might have gone to sleep straight away. It's the first feed in a week or so that she hasn't screamed during it... I did post a thread earlier about it, but lately she has been crying every time I try and give her a bottle, I don't know why. All she wants is to stick her thumb in her mouth and cries after every 20mls or so of milk. I have been struggling to get 120ml into her, she is having 180ml bottles, but is supposed to be increasing up to 240mls about now. DF thought maybe her gums are hurting her, but i can't feel the tips of any teeth. I put a tiny bit of bonjela on her gums during one feed but it didn't seem to make a difference. I bought a couple of 6 month+ teats yesterday as she is still on size 2 teats, which I think is for about 2-3 months old. Again I don't think they helped, just meant she got more milk faster. WIll go back and get the rest that I need tomorrow, may as well change all her bottles over to the new teats.

well she's still quiet so must have gone to sleep, back to bed for me too!