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

[Calluna]

Tinsel - Isaac is usually cranky like that when he's over tired. I know what you mean about going out too, it's so hard to get out when you had so much trouble getting them to sleep, I'm always appologising for waking him up getting him out of the car or out of the pram. Makes me feel so mean.

I think I'm just going to go with giving him the dummy for daytime sleeps. He doesn't need it at night time at the moment so I think since he's happy I'll just keep going the way we have been. As you say, Whatever works, and this seems to be working.

jetta - re: the dry skin, Isaac had a few dry spots in his skin folds and his nappyline when he was little, I just used olive oil after every bath and within a week it was gone. I used it on his face too and he was fine with it. Just watch the eyes it stings like hell.
I'm totally in awe of how quickly he is learning. I think he's going to try rolling soon too, not sure why, just a feeling I get sometimes tells me he's trying.
How do you manage to get to the gym? Do they let you take Sam in? We are with Jetts 24hr gym and because of insurance they wont let us take Isaac in It makes it really hard. One of us has to stay outside with Isaac while the other goes in and that means that theres no-one to spot for either of us. Just have to hope DP doesn't drop a weight on himself one day :S
Isaac loves being in the stroller rather than the bassinette. We changed it over at the same time as we moved him to the cot because he was sleeping in the bassinette on the pram for the first 2 months. He was getting pretty cramped in the bassinette so I changed it to the seat and he was really happy. He loved being able to look around I think. I just put a light wrap over his legs, it seems to keep the sun off. Also I found a sunscreen that is apparently safe to use on under 6mth olds - I asked at the chemist. I think it was "hamilton sensitive".
HOORAY FOR BIG BOYS!

lovelycate - Zac might be having a growth spurt or developmental milestone coming up or just happened? Apparently babies can have sleep disturbances and feed more often around the same time. It must be hard for you
hope things get better soon

ss_storm Glad to hear Hayley's doing well after the needles. Those calenders sound like a great idea.. maybe I could do that to send to my family down south, I think they'd like that, and not too exxy either. If you don't mind me thiefing your idea
I am getting really sick of people staring at Isaac. I feel like turning around to them and saying "how would like it if I came up and stared at you in the middle of the shops?!" I probably wouldn't mind so much if they asked or were a bit more polite about it. It's more the people that just walk up and stand there staring or touch him, especially when I'm feeding him. WTH? Can't you see me with my tit out?
... /end rant

AFM - not too much happening really just feeling very lucky to have my lovely little boy. He really is a little miracle. SIL's friend lost her little one last week and it's made me realise how lucky we really are to have our healthy little boy.
I'm getting really sick of living with the people I live with too - MIL, FIL DP's uncle and DP's cousin - It's a big house so it's not so much space that's an issue. More the lack of respect I get as a parent. MIL has no problem just walking over and grabbing Isaac off whoever is holding him, including me or DP. Or if he's playing happily in the bouncer on his own, and makes a little noise, she'll jump and say do you wnat me to pick him up, and I'll say no he's fine, and 2 seconds later she's doing it anyway. twice in two days this has happened.
and DP's cousin.. omg dont get me started. last week isaac was "It" or "that thing" and apparently all he does is scream. Which is bs.

I gotta go get dressed, Have a good day everyone
xoxo

ETA - Sorry, another novel. I get get a little carried away

[BekZ]

Hi Everyone,

Hugs to all the bubs getting immunisations. Eva and Sara are going next Thursday for their 4 month and 4 year needles. I am a bit nervous about Sara because she fully aware of what is going to happen.

I been really busy with preparing for a combined birthday party that we are holding for Sara and Loren on Sunday.

Miss Eva is going well. She seems to be sleeping a bit better at night. Some nights she wakes once for a feed and others twice. Her day sleeps are all over the shop but I have noticed that some days she'll have 3 small sleeps and others 1 long sleep (around 3 hours). She isn't rolling yet but she is holding things and putting them in her mouth. She has just hit the 6kg mark, which makes her my lightest baby at this stage. I was a bit concerned but she is happy and bright and averages a gain of 100g per week, although I think her gains have been less in the last 2 weeks.

Tinsel - Eva is getting really cranky when biting down on things too lol. I think some teeth maybe on the way. Funny you mentioned the introducing solids at 4 months, because my friend who has a bub asked me if I had started Eva yet. Apparently the new protocol is to start at 4 months now according to her doctor and they say not to worry about holding off on introducing things like wheat and grains. I must get down to my nurse and ask her what she thinks.

Hugs to all.

[ss_storm]

Heva - the calendars were $10 each from Big W, there are a few different designs but I chose all the same design (I bought 8..the guy must have been wondering what I was up to! Lol) as I didnt think the others really suited baby photos. Got the photos printed yesterday and it was a bit over $20 for 145 photos, I need to go back and get some more, I have quite a few leftover (going to put them on front covers for the calendars though), but for December I want to use a pic of Hayley with a santa hat (got a little kids one from Big W), I'm using the same photo for my christmas cards but didn't get enough printed..my counting was a bit out! Lol.
Sorry about your SIL's friend's baby...that's so sad. I know what you mean about feeling lucky- df's cousin's baby boy was stillborn a couple of months before Hayley was born, i was so scared that after going through 9 months of pregnancy something terrible was going to happen.
Hope your 'housemates' stop being so annoying too, must be hard living with the PIL

Bek- our day sleeps aren't much better! Lol. She usually has about 4 short sleeps (1/2 hour to an hour each, an hour if I'm lucky!), or sometimes 2 or 3 short sleeps with a long 2-3 hour sleep. She just gets so grumpy if she only has 1/2 hour sleeps during the day.

Better go before I write an essay again

[Miss E]

Hi ladies,

Just thought I would pop in quickly and say hello and wish everyone a good weekend.

Jetta I also changed Ash over to the seat on the pram a couple of weeks back. He loves it! I keep him reclined most of the time, unless we are at a cafe or something, then I sit him up.

Storm sounds like your naps are about the same as ours. It's so frustrating when they wake up after half an hour and are still tired...

Bekz it's interesting what they say with solids isn't it... My mchn has said to wait until 5 or 6 months which I think we are going to do. I don't think Ash is ready yet, he watches me eat like a hawk but still has the tongue thrust reflex. I introduced him to water about a week ago with a sippy cup. He enjoys experimenting with it, but at the moment is mostly just playing with it and enjoying the sensation of something in his mouth, mind you most of it seems to spill out.

Heva I feel for you living with the inlaws, it must be so frustrating have MIL intervene like that all the time. I admire you, there is no way I could put up with my IL's, especially FIL. They live in the US but are coming to visit in January and TBH I am dreading it. It was bad enough before Ash was born, I shudder to think how much more they will irritate me now that they will be all over him and telling me how to do things. I get that they were parents themselves, but for gods sake that was 30 years ago now. We're doing it now, so I think we might be a little bit more in the swing of things iykwim. See how worked up they get me, just thinking about them coming has set me off on a rant LOL!

Cate Ash wakes up screaming sometimes too... I wonder if they are nightmares, but then I think what could he be having nightmares about... maybe immunisations...

Anyway gotta run, have the girls from mothers group coming over here today. Have a good weekend everyone! x

[leckert]

busy week here miss a couple of days and takes a bit to catch up reading.

not going to attempt personals today.

Blake's managed to get a chest infection so went to dr with dad (& not mum) yesterday and has some antibiotics (and another appt on Mon with me) to try to clear it up. nasty cough. he's been kind enough to share with me & DH and my voice is nearly gone (stayed home with DS today - I missed school and he missed CC). about to go feed again ... heat (39 today) and sickness not helping although he's had 1 1/2 hr sleep so far. On positive note skin's nearly cleared up.

[Calluna]

ss-storm - I had a look at the calendars, the ones where you give them the photo's and they print them for you. I'm thinking I might do that for my mum, cause she always has a calendar, and maybe do photo books or something similar for others.
I sent SIL an email with a direct link to the BB loss section, I'm still in 2 minds as to whether or not it was the right thing to do, I guess they can decide themselves if they want to join.

MissE - dw I totally understand getting worked up. I feel like everyday I'm whinging about something they've done. I feel like telling them to shut up and let me be a parent, instead of telling me what to do and doing it for me if I don't like it. But I can't cause it's thier house and we cant afford to be booted out. I just wish they'd be a little more respectful... ahem.. /end rant... again.

Cate - Isaac wakes up crying occasionally (twice today ) and often sobs in his sleep, it's heartbreaking isn't it? It could be nightmares, I'm convinced Isaac was having nightmares of his birth for a few months. These days though he sounds like he's in pain, so I don't know. Any ideas?

Leckert - Oh no I hope you're all feeling much better soon.

Hi to everyone else.

AFM - Went to the shops today and got my legs and eyebrows waxed, I feel much more human now, less like a warewolf. WooHoo!
We've had some overheating problems with the car for the last month. finally the mechanic figured out what the prolem was and fixed it, we get the car back and the WHOLE CAR is speckled with grey underspray and theres a hole in the mesh on the BRAND NEW front bar the mech's explaination - "oh yea I was supposed to get that off" (paint) and "something flew into it while I was driving"(mesh). WTH? a) there shouldn't be underspray on the car in the first place! and B) the mesh is pretty solid I dont think even a rock could do that coming off a truck tyre and its in a strange place for that anyway.
So we go and get them to get the underspray off and they have to buff it and that's left scratch marks all over the paint and they also scratched the windows getting it off. So now the paint job is ruined! DF is ringing fair trade on monday to see if we can get the $7000 to get a respray (custom paint job) and however much the mesh is to replace.
beacause of this DF has been in a foul mood all afternoon.
Sigh, all I seem to do these days is whinge. Sorry.

Hope everyones day was better than ours.

[lovelycate]

storm - love the calendar idea! I and SIL are planning to make Christmas cards this year using our bubs as the 'cover boys'. Target has some cute little santa outfits so we'll take some photos and make our own cards!

Jetta - I upgraded Zac to the 'big boy' seat recently. he seems to love it too, although I miss seeing his face now that he's not in the bassinette :-(

Bekz - the 'rule' with introducing solids seems to be all over the place. Our MCHN has said "at six months, not before four months". I think Zac is definitely ready, it's just finding a time and day to actually do it now! I am looking forward to it...

leckert - you poor things! being sick in this heat would be pretty miserable too. Hope it all clears up quickly.

Heva - we're here for you to get things off your chest when you need to! Can't imagine what it must be like for you living with the in-laws I shaved my legs for the first time in months recently - I had no idea that my legs were that hairy!!

AFM - Zac is still having problems with settling. I've gotten into the habit of rocking him to sleep and then putting him down, but unfortunately he's started to not like that so much... he can obviously feel the weight shifting as I lean over to put him down and he starts grizzling. If I do get him down alright he wakes up within a couple of minutes, absolutely bug-eyed and shrieking. I've tried standing next to the cot with my hands on him, and it still happens. Poor little mite looks so terrified! The weird thing is that it only seems to happen with his day sleeps (touch wood). His night sleeps have regressed (waking every 3 hours again, bummer), but he seems to sleep ok otherwise at night. I can only assume it's just something he will work through as he is still the most delightful, happy little fellow the rest of the time.

Doesn't your heart just melt to look at them when they're smiling, or peacefully asleep, or ... pretty much any time at all?

Hope everyone's having a great weekend.

[Fleur]

I shaved my legs for the first time in months recently - I had no idea that my legs were that hairy!!

Lol, me too, I was horrified when I realised how long it had been

Arlea also sometimes wakes from her sleeps crying. I was talking about this with my sister in Adelaide, her LO was born on the 9th July & he does the same. Usually they stir, wakes slowly & smiling. But sometimes they can be sleeping soundly & all of a sudden with no warning, wake crying / screaming, very upsetting We were talking about it & wondering about nightmares too...

Sorry no personals tongiht, off to bed hope everyone is well

[MamaPan]

hi everyone
sorry i am having comp probs so i dont think i can see all the posts...
Leckert - glad his skin is clearing up - was it dermatitis? J had that at about 6 weks all over his body - poor little guy. i think it would be awful in this heat too. J has excema and i am finding it clears up a bit if i use QV oil in his bath each day plus moo goo excema cream on patches - quite thick and not rubbed in - and moo goo MSN cream as moisturiser all over him. what a regime!!!
J rolled over for the 1st time last night, in his cot - so i was checking all night o make sure he wasnt on his tummy! i am hoping this will make him a bit more settled at night as he has been 'practising' all night the last week! he has had an explosion on the babling front too - adorable! so i think we were going thrugh a leap recently - hope his sleep goes back to 2-3 feeds each night now. he had a slight temp last night, got trhough without panadol but having a homey day today to give him some rest, the gparents were here all weekend and it has been sooo hot so i think he is a bit over it all!
sorry no more personals but as i said i dont think i can read everything.. will try to be on a little more this week.
byw is anyone starting solids soon - my paed recommended sometime b/n 4 and 6 months, wont be doing it for a fewwks yet...

ETA - only saw any posts after Leckert's when i posted.... so quickly... Heva - I feel for you - vent away it is what we are here for! SS - that mechanic sounds dodgy! Jasp - J also does that sometimes with his sleeps...

[ss_storm]

mama pan - yay for the rolling! You wont be able to stop him now! Although..H can roll from back to front but can't go front to back, so I have to roll her back over about a 100 times a day! Bit worried about her getting stuck on her tummy in her sleep but she hasn't rolled in her sleep yet, although she has started to sleep on her side, and has also started wriggling around in her cot so she is lying sideways right at the bottom...glad i got her a grobag when i did!

I dont think we'll start solids until after xmas. my MCHN still goes by the 6 month thing, but we are hoping to be moving around christmas so I dont want to be trying to fit in starting solids around that! That's if we are still together...things have been pretty crap between us lately and I honestly feel like a single parent. hopefully we can sort things out...but when all it seems he cares about is DTD then I;m not so sure...dont know what I would do though if we decided to call it quits...just wish he would grow up and realise he is a parent now, not just a partner, and no he cant do whatever he wants whenever he wants.

with crying in their sleep, I've heard that they can be having nightmares about teething??? Dont know how true that is..lol. H does it sometimes, but I stick her dummy back in and she usually settles straight back to sleep.

[MamaPan]

Poor little J - I just had to give him panadol - he has a temp and is v whingey... annoyed as i think my FIL infected him on the weekend. he wasnt feeling well and i asked him to stay away - which he didnt... and now my poor little guy is sick.... grrrrrrrrrr

ETA SS just saw your post....J also moves around a lot in his sleep - he has been sleeping on his side for about 10 days now, just rolls straight onto his side.. and i ALWAYS find him ina totally diff part of the cot to where i left him. v diff from DS1 who always stayed put! LOL! I hope things work out withyour DF, having kids def puts a strain on your relationship, and i think moreso with your first bub as life chgs so much. is there anyt way you can get some time to go our for dinner/coffee/drinks/walk just the 2 of you and have a good chat? IMO both sides (mum and dad) have big adjustments to make and sometimes it really helps to both talka bout how you aree feeling... hugs.

[lovelycate]

jasp - I actually think my legs were hairier than DH's!!

mamapan - we started baby rice on Sunday. Zac has been watching us eat very closely for a month or so now, and started grabbing at our food, so figured it was probably about time. I don't know whether any of the rice actually made it down, but he seemed quite interested in it. He looked a little less impressed about it this morning, but was happy enough to have a go at it.

ss-storm - ah you poor thing. For what it's worth, I don't think your DP's behaviour is that out of the norm (unfortunately). I really feel for you - I hope things work out soon for you.

[Fleur]

Oh Cate lucky you! I can't wait to start solids lol. I have been trying to work out when to do it - when I had the other kids it was 4mths - but these days it seems all confused - I have decided I will just follow her cues as you did.

mamapan I hope your little guy feels better soon. How annoying that you FIL made him sick - I wish people would be more considerate when they aren't well

Storm just keep telling yourself hun...'this too shall pass' ...

Arlea is on the move already she wriggles all over the cot & off her floor rug onto the tiles..she made her way over to my sisters toes yesterday & bit them and she has discovered her own toes, loves chewing on them it's SO cute I will have to get some pics up on FB.
I am so tired & frustrated with not getting anything done I feel like I am so scattered & all over the place. Not sure what is wrong with me...hopefully it will pass.
Hope everyone else is well

[Calluna]

Double post.

[Calluna]

Cate - you could try rocking him until he's sleepy but not asleep and putting him down, then patting him or something? Isaac almost always wakes himself up when I put him down asleep, unless he is really tired. IDK if it will work, just an idea.

MamaPan - Normally the mechanic is really good, will check out little things for free, sometimes tops up oil/ coolant/ power steering fluid/ etc for free, gives us discounts, but this time he was shocking. It wasn't him that did the spray painting apparently but still, he was in charge of our car and he allowed the person to paint near it.
WOOHOO for rolling over, hopefully things settle down a bit for you.
I'd be so angry if my FIL or anyone else made my DS sick like that. grr makes me angry just thinking about it.

ss - I sometimes think things would be easier on my own. Most of the time I have to go and fix what DF has done anyway. He comes and asks me to help with the simplest things, like putting a nappy on DS or doing up the buttons on his clothes, apparently it's not him doing it wrong, the press studs on the bottom of his body suits are just too hard to figure out. Then after spending pretty much ALL day looking after DS mostly on my own he wants to hug me and kiss me and be all over me. Everytime I put Isaac down it's can I have a hug now? You never hug me anymore. Anyway enough of my ranting, just wanted to let you know your not alone

Jasp - ROFL @ toe biting.

AFM - Isaac has started really laughing instead of just grunting and squealing. He's only done it twice but omg it's soo cute. I think he's going to start rolling soon too. When he's on his tummy it looks like he's trying. He's been pushing himself up on his knees alot lately too. Mind you I've thinking that for about a week now
Isaac has been watching us eat for a while and every now and then I'll give him the tiniest little bit of what I'm eating, ie the sauce or something runny. But I don't think he's really ready for solids just yet. He doesn't really spit stuff out, just doesn't eat it.
How do you manage to fit that into the day anyway? I'm flat out BF, giving him tummy time and getting him to sleep. Not to mention DF making us go out somewhere almost every day. He just doesn't get that we cant do that anymore. I've explained it to him dozens of times and he says he gets it then still expects it to be ok to tell me we have to do this and that. It's so frustrating, especially when it's something he doesn't even need me for. But apparently he can't go anywhere without me.
Then when I am giving DS time to sleep or feed before going out, every 5 mins it's when do you think he's gonna wake up? Are you ready to go? How much longer is he going to be feeding for? IDBK why dont you ask him!?

Does anyone elses DS or DD do this...
When I sit DS in the pram/ bouncer/ car seat/ sometimes in my lap, he pulls his head forward like he's trying to sit up. I dont know why he does it, it's like he wants to sit forward but even when I sit him up in the pram he still does it. Sometimes he gets quite frustrated too. I don't think he's in pain. Any ideas?

Damn, another whingy novel. Next time I'm gonna be all positive!

[ss_storm]

yep Heva, DD does that pulling her head up thing. If I lay her down on a pillow, so she isn't laying down but not really sitting up either (reclining! Lol) then she will try and pull her head up like she is trying to sit up. Same as your DS, if she is in the pram or resting on my lap etc. I do sit on the floor with her in between my legs and she can sort of balance for a few seconds. I read it's good to sit them up like that, and hold them up so they are standing as it helps strengthen their muscles getting ready for sitting and walking.

DD is trying to move when on her tummy too..her legs and arms wiggle like mad and she grunts, I think she is trying really hard to crawl! She gets frustrated though because she isn't going anywhere.

Just wanted to say thanks for your support WRT DF issues...we had a talk last night, and whilst it didn't go down too well at the time, we have apologised and made up, and agreed to make more time for each other, as well as for DF to spend more time with DD. Will see how long it lasts...I really thought that was it though! He wouldnt talk to his mum about it either...I dont know if he will now that things have calmed down a little. She is a single parent and has done a great job by herself so she kind of knows what it is like! And I dont want my daughter to grow up in a 'broken home'. Anyway for the moment at least things are ok.
But Heva, yep that's exactly what I feel! The last thing I feel like when I've just put DD to bed and finally have some time to myself, is DF being all over me like a rash. Particularly when it's not just a cuddle that he wants...it always seems like he wants it to turn into something more.

Thanks again for all your hugs & words, they do really help and I'm so grateful for BB and my baby buddies!

I've been thinking about solids too...MCHN said not to start until 6 months, but I've heard of people starting way earlier than that and people keep asking me if she is on solids yet! She does watch me like a hawk when I'm having breakfast or morning tea! I do wonder if it will help her sleep better over night, the last week or so she has been waking at 2 or 3am for a feed, but won't go back to sleep for another hour and a half, then wakes up at 5am. Managed to get her back to sleep for an hour and a half this morning and we got up for the day at 7, but yesterday I was up at 6 because she wouldn't go back to sleep. I don't want to do 5am starts! I know 'they' say solids don't help with overnight sleeping, but I've heard a few people say that sleep improved after starting solids. She was going so well overnight too, either sleeping right through for about 10 or 11 hours, or waking up at 2am but going straight back to sleep when I put her back down after a feed.

[Fleur]

Just quickly WRT solids - FWIW, I started all mine right on 4 mths. I know since then the advice has changed a bit, but I will be watching AR very closely when we get to 4 mths to see if she looks ready. One of the first things they had (besides veges, fruit & rice cereal) was toast & they loved it

I think generally it is not before 4 mths but definitely by / at 6 mths - and then depending on who you speak to / what you read, it varies. I have tried to pin down exactly when you are 'supposed to' & I can't work it out.
So I think the bedt thing to do is what Cate did - watch for their cues as to when they are ready - anyone else??

Heva - Arlea has been pulling her head forward for a little while - I do think they are trying to sit up, clever llittle monkeys they are - impatient to get going!
I help her as much as possible. I think she is only a couple of weeks off sitting on her own, she has the strength but not the balance.

ETA - I think we are having a wonder week she will be 17 weeks on Friday, so bang on time.... very cranky the last couple of days & hard to please, hard to settle. I wonder what she will be doing after this....

[lovelycate]

ss_storm - I had a thought (!) Do you think maybe your DF is wanting 'more' of you to reassure himself that you still love him now that you've got 'somebody else' in your life? I think men actually find it quite challenging moving on from being the love of your life to having to share that love with somebody else. We know that they're not too bright sometimes

jasp - that's a classic story, definitely one to save for the 21st!

re solids, my MCHN was happy to say that when she first started maternal nursing that they used to say to start solids by 8 weeks, and that the guidelines change every year or so. However, the general consensus seems (now) to be definitely not before 4 months as their digestions aren't developed enough, but that you should start by 6 months otherwise you can kind of miss the boat a bit.