Babies Born ~ November 1st -15th 2011 #2

[Lolpigs]

Lol ck must be because its not mum haha, my mum gave me the tip of touching it to the roof of Bubs mouth so she sucks it, she has trouble with it because it isn't as big as me

But every time I put her down she starts to drift off, then forces herself awake again.. sheesh! 2nd successful feed wew! We are on a roll, fighting sleep again .. took 25 mins last time little stubborn madam! Dad has to do the settling too otherwise she won't go to sleep for me. We are trying to break the habbit of her falling asleep in my arms which is hard When she cries I just want to pick her up so I am banned

Thanks guys been a long hard road! I hope everyone else is well and all bubs are doing well. No not a new vaccine, you get a booster with tetnus and diptheria combined nowadays. Worth getting it I rekong just to be on the safe side. Everyone except bubs has had it here.

Edit: new record an hour to settle... stubborn or what!.. any tips here? she dosent seem to be settling and getting more and more tired, has had dummy, rocking patting and leaving to settle on her own.. >.<

[Cranky Kitten]

Is she actually upset/crying or just awake and alert? Alex seems to enjoy having some time down on his play-mat with his toys to kick around and stretch out. We also flip him onto his tummy a couple of times a day for tummy time, if he's not doing push ups on my chest instead. At this age they're starting to have more alert time and less going straight back to sleep after a feed, so it may be that she's just not really tired yet? Of course this is more for daytime than night time when you want them to go straight back to sleep

Mind you, I'm probably not the best one to be giving advice on settling for sleep as I nearly always either feed to sleep or pretty close to it. Sometimes he'll go down super drowsy and drift the rest of the way himself, but most times he's in my arms - I'm not quite ready to start making him settle himself just yet.

[xAmandax]

Lolpigs, I found a warm bath with that Johnson's bedtime bath works well!! The warm water seems to help, then all warm and clean feeling we have the same problem though cos its not like you can give them a bath every time you have to settle them hey! I can settle violet at night (thank goodness- and it takes ages still) but during the day almost impossible!

[Mollie89]

Lolpigs Congratulations on the feeding!!

Oh what a night we had last night I hope tonight is better... Aubree was feral (lucky I love her) Im pretty sure she has a tummy ache though...

[Cranky Kitten]

Tummy aches suck. Have you tried holding her like a rugby ball face down along your arm and rocking her that way? A bit of pressure on the sore belly sometimes helps..

[DANNIIM]

Hi ladies it is alot harder judging in the early days what they need especially when they are BF, I myself automatically have always pop bub on the boob to settle where as now Abby is on formula I know when she is and isn't hungry so it's trial and error a bit more I guess for you girls. I just gave Abby her last feed at 10pm tonight and she went to sleep but then woke up and couldn't settle her, she was wriggling around etc so I just put her into her bassinet and she drifted off on her own after about 20 mins - no crying. I also put her into the lil lamb swing I got her and that thing is awesome . Great when you need bub to have a rest but you need to do some things. I tend to use it of a night and if she hasn't slept for a while during the day - it's a sure thing to get her to sleep. I do try to not use it too much though, I don't want to use it as a babysitter etc.

[Lolpigs]

Tummy aches suck. Have you tried holding her like a rugby ball face down along your arm and rocking her that way? A bit of pressure on the sore belly sometimes helps..

My MCHN told me to use that hold when I don't know if she is hungry or belly ache/wind and slowly lift her up and down. If the crying stops while in that hold, it is belly ache/wind not hunger

[Cranky Kitten]

Used to work a treat with DD. I developed some decent biceps from holding her that way...

[AMumma]

Had a good night last night. He was fed and settled in 30mubs for all 3 feeds.

I'm getting so excited about Levi's first Xmas.

[Lolpigs]

Oh and CK yes she was crying, she is stubborn and dosent want to go to sleep so we are having a little war on our hands atm she is getting way over tired becuase she fights sleep lol If she is jsut peaceful and not crying I just leave her in the bassinette if it is bed time no stress there.

[AMumma]

Do babies get milk spots on their arms? He is a piggy eater so we do end up with milk everywhere. I'm just wondering if he's been bitten by something. They look like milk spots.

[Lolpigs]

Bad day today bubs wouldnt go down for longer than an hour, lots of crying, fussing during feeds and jerky movements Still trying to get her to get some sleep currently in baby carrier so tired >.<

[Cranky Kitten]

Do babies get milk spots on their arms? He is a piggy eater so we do end up with milk everywhere. I'm just wondering if he's been bitten by something. They look like milk spots.

Yes, Alex has them as well - it's to do with your hormones passing into the milk, not because he got milk on his skin though

[Lolpigs]

Daily baby buys has Christmas bum cheeks cloth nappies for half price today if anyone is interested. I bought 3 today reindeer already sold out

[xAmandax]

Lolpigs- we are having a similar problem with bubs fighting sleep! I've has a bit of success with stroking in upwards motion the bridge of her nose, up to the first little bit of forehead (heard it can help settle) but not much success really..

Hardly slept at all last night, Violet woke up for feeds on average each two hours and didn't want to settle.. So tired this morning!!

Im scared of the whooping cough vaccine.. Who'd have though after going through childbirth with no pain relief is still be scared of an injection!?

We went to westfield yesterday (my sister and I) - it was 30 degrees and it was abut nerve wracking taking Violet out in the heat.. I just got the car aircon cranking before putting her I and used a wrap to cover her skin whenever transferring her from pram to car etc- anyone else have advice about managing the hot days?! I reckon in general ill just try avoid taking her out if much over 30 degrees!

[Lolpigs]

Makes life a little difficult doesnt it Amanda! We are trying the settling technique tresillian have on their website. Combined with dummy it is getting better slowly at day sleep time.

We had a great night when we nally got Bubs down, she slept till 12:30 then went right back to sleep after both her feeds, days times are just the challange now!

I would avoid extremes in temp Amanda as I have the same worries as you, at least while they are so tiny.

Feeding is going great.we figured out we got some incorrect advice from the hospital which started us down that whole track. They told us sucking hand is hungry, but for our DD that is belly ache, she does a head bob and pushes her hand towards her mouth at the same time is she is hungry :/

Least it is sorted now I guess.

Hope everyone is doing well and their bubs are happy.

[Cranky Kitten]

Glad to hear feeding is settling down for you Lolpigs, after such a hard road - well done Funny how different babies will have different signals for things, Alex when he's hungry will do a combination of head bobbing and sucking on his hands, but doesn't really suck at any other time. For a belly ache he'll grunt and squirm a lot, drawing his legs up, but not really cry.

When it comes to managing hot days, there's a few things you can do to minimise the chances of overheating bub. I normally try to do as much as possible earlier in the morning on days when I know it's going to be super hot, and avoid going out between 11am and about 3-4pm which is the hottest part of the day. I use one of those shade things on his pram and make sure he has frequent feeds to keep him well hydrated. Alex is really cute in just a singlet and nappy but I do keep a selection of warmer clothes and a muslin wrap in his bag so if we suddenly go from warm to icy cold air-con I can add layers so he doesn't get cold and then remove them when we head back outside. Kinda glad he hates being wrapped because it's one less layer to be bothered with really. Also if we have been out and he's a bit hot and sweaty it makes it pretty yuck to feed him so we're not above jumping in for a quick shower to rinse down and cool off once we're home.

Of course, anything over about 35 is classified as an "at-home" day where we do as little as possible and veg out under the aircon unless we absolutely have to go out. Like a couple of weeks ago when it was 38 and we had to go to the beach for DD's Nippers - said to DH next time he can take DD and I'll stay at home with Alex.

[DANNIIM]

We continually have days here of 40 degrees and over so I just don't go outside till after 4pm or if we do it's to go into aircon somewhere like the shops or we go outside to the pool.

The best thing I have bought is the baby swing - Abby loves to fall sleep in it, also the car she loves the movement.

I've been feeding her about 10pm each night and she's starting to sleep a bit longer the last few nights and go through to around 4am or later which is nice to have a couple more hours sleep.
How's everyones bubs going at fitting in the bassinets still? Abby starting to get quite long, she still fits in there quite well but not sure we will get to use it for 3-4 months, but she loves sleeping in it so it'll be a shame when we need to put her in the big cot.

DH's first day back at work today so I'm a mum of 3 kids at home today - so far so good but it is challenging keeping DS2 occupied.