Awwww bec you poor thing. Honestly, David does not know what he is missing with your gorgeous son. (I wrote something a little nastier but then deleted it.. not sure how you feel about David ). Are the agency going to track him down to make him pay child support? Do you then have to go through all the prooving he's the father thing? Gee sorry maybe I shouldnt ask all these questions. I think you are doing such an amazing job. You and Belfie are our supermums
This morning I gave Chloe some rice cereal with breastmilk mixed in. She has been staring at us eating for about a week now and reaching for our forks/cups etc. So i just tried it and she was great! Opened her mouth up and took it. Screwed her face up a little at the taste/consistency. Will try her for the next 3 or 4 days then try some apple
Last edited by fuzzy; February 4th, 2011 at 04:20 PM.
Gastro this morning - just me - horribly dizzy then the works . Thank god my mum Is here!! Luckily I seem to improving already. OMG I have renewed sympathy for DH's vertigo just having it briefly was AWFUL!
fuzzy - that's ok I don't mind the questions, I'm just so glad I can rant about it here! David is missing out on sooo much, it's a real shame I couldn't contact him, or didn't want to be contacted. A friend of mine went to see him for me to ask for his email/phone number but he wouldn't give it. I think he is just a young immature guy who is possibly terrified of the possibility of having a baby. I hope he decides to contact me after he sees the photos. Child support are trying to contact him but because I can't give enough information, and because his name is very common they are coming to a dead end so I will get an exemption which means I'll be able to get family tax benefit a & b. Because he didn't sign the birth certificate he is not on that either even though I put his name on the form. Not a good look for both Isaac and I.
How exciting for Chloes solids, keep us updated on how she goes. I am not starting yet but would like to hear how you're going anyway. Our final mothers group yesterday was on solids, lots of interesting info. Does everyone know about honey? Apparently its a big no no for babies under 12 months, there is a rare illness called botulism they can get from it, and only babies under 12 months can get it. It's very serious, and they can die very quickly.. it is very rare but they recommend avoiding it completely. I didn't know about that myself, so I just thought I'd share in case anyone else hadn't heard either.
Belfie - oh no I hope you're feeling better soon. Thanks for the tips on resettling the other day, I persisted after Isaac woke up after a short sleep, and he slept for another 2 an a half hours. The sshhh-ing with rocking/patting seems to work really well.
Isaac has been a shocking sleeper this week. It's a stormy week according to the wonder week chart, it must be right. Last night he woke at 11is, 12, 1:30, 3:30, 5, 8 then 9. Then only short sleeps today. OMG. I am wrecked. I hope he goes back to his normal sleeping pattern soon, and that this is just because of the 'stormy week'. Apart from that he is doing well, his weight has slowed down, he has put on 670g in three weeks and now weighs 7.46kg (up near 90th percentile!) and he grew 3cm in that time so he is now 63.5cm.
A funny thing I noticed is that Isaac's legs are darker than his body! His skin is darkening all over now, he's a lovely light brown colour but his legs are noticeably darker. Mum thinks it might be because his legs stick out of the pram, but I usually make sure he's fully shaded and he's not in it for long anyway. It was one thing that really stood out for me at swimming, how white all the other babies look next to him, and it's really obvious now that he's mixed race. Don't get me wrong, I love how he looks, it's just something that I'm noticing more now that's all.
Last edited by bec293; February 4th, 2011 at 07:31 PM.
shortest gastro ever. THANK GOD! Was foul this morning but had stoipped vomiting by midday... am able to eat now. And the biggest fingers crossed that no-one else here gets it. I actually had some vertigo with it and OMG it was so foul. I really don't know how DH is coping with feeling like that all the time. Geez we're such a pair huh.
Hey Bec, you should tell your friend to try to sneek a photo of David,(even on a mobile phone so its more descret, Issac will prob be more so curious of that than anything else.
I do know what it feels like. Though with DS, Rob wasnt in another country and i knew exactly where he was and knowing he was so close and still wouldnt have anything to do with me/Ash hurt like hell. I sent him pics through the whole pregnancy of my belly and ultrasounds etc, and he only once ever sent one sms saying wow your getting big towards the end and that was it! I even sms'ed him it was a boy and still didnt hear anything, though continuosly sending things to him made me feel as close as i could to feeling he was in some way apart of it. I also chose a photo of Ash, was his first smile at 6 weeks and sent it to him in a card at valentines day - to try to hide it so he wouldnt expect it was me in the mail, plus his parents didnt know about Ash. Its very painful.... Big hugs coming your way. I too cried MANY tears not only for me but Ash.
Jeez Buzzie I can't imagine how awful that must have been for you. I can't believe he didn't even tell his parents. I suppose David hasn't told his family, I don't even know if he knows for certain himself anyway. The hardest thing is imagining Isaac when he's older wanting to know about his father. That is going to be so hard but I'll be honest with him as difficult as that will be.
Luckily I have some photos of David, we went to the same friends costume party at Halloween so I've got my friends pics from there. Unfortunately he is wearing only trousers and a bow tie (classy, I know - I have no idea what he was supposed to be) so not really appropriate to show a child. I also have some that I copied from facebook of him performing with his dance troupe and also a couple of him with friends.
I dreamfed Isaac for the first time last night, he had gone to sleep at 8:30, I gave him a feed in his sleep at about 10:30 then he slept until after 2am! It was about 6 hours sleep all up. Then he woke at 5 then 8:30 as usual.
edit: I've had the most awful week, but tonight after reading all the beautiful nice comments on my 365 photo of Isaac, I logged on here to see I've been RAK'd.. so heartwarming I just want to hug whoever it was, it was another thing that made me cry but in a very very good way.
Just quickly - Chloe is LOVING the rice cereal stuff. This is day three. Just been giving her a bit at lunch time. Most of it ends up on her face. Tomorrow I will try some pear as well.
She has gone backwards with sleep though. I made the mistake of starting to feed her before I put her to sleep. Just because that is how the timing was working out. But it has meant that nobody can get her to sleep except for me. So have stopped doing that. This morning I went to the gym and she cried for an hour straight with DH trying to settle her the entire time. She cried so much she broke out in a red rash on her face! Oh man. Its going to be struggle town for a little while here I think
I have been away for a couple of weeks so MIA. Will try to catch up.
Bec - Well done on your RAK!! How exciting. People obviously appreciate the time you take with your persies. What a dilemma about David! Are you trying to get child support or is it just a tax thing?? I think you have the same camera as me - Nikon D60? I have had it for a couple of years and still have no idea what half of the functions are! My DH's family got me a couple of instructional books for Chrissy so I really have no excuse not to get to know it better this year. I think you do a great job with your pics and I was thinking maybe you should combine your hobbies for your money making venture and make some fabric kiddies books that include some of your great pics. Your comments about finding it hard to find the time to study (and a few other people saying I am mad to use up my time with Pearl studying have made me re-think the whole thing. How are you going with it now?
Fuzzy - sounds like a few of us are having a drama with sleep at the mo - P and I have been away for a couple of weeks and she has been up every couple of hours most nights - I am shattered! Now that we are home I plan on getting strict with the sleep regime and trying to rock her back to sleep without getting her out of her cot, day and night (daytime she is only sleeping for about 40mins at a time!!!) All this up at night is a shock to the system after she was such a good sleeper to begin with (only up once between 10pm and 6am). Interesting to hear how Chloe is going with solids - I have no plans to start P on food for a while due the intolerance issues bfeeding has uncovered - am hoping to push her out to about 8months if I can.
Belfie - do you know if starting solids later is the latest advice for allergy prone kids? Sorry to hear that your health woes are continuing - your family must be due some good health luck sometime soon!
Buzzie - I don't know how you got through that on your own! What a disaster! It is great that DP is making all the right noises now though - bring on the rock I say!
I notice on fb that Kirsten's Sam has 2 teeth already! anyone else's bub have teeth yet??
P and I got back from a trip to Adel and Mel last night (we were due back Friday night but our flight out of Mel was delayed 8hrs so we missed the connection home and there wasn't another one until last night!) Bit of a bummer that DH missed out on his weekend with Pearl but at least we are all safe. She travelled OK on both flights but it is great to be back home where we are all set up to care for her and DH is availible to lend a hand - my shoulders and neck are buggered from carrying her around so much!
fuzzy - great to hear Chloe loves the rice cereal, sounds like she's having fun with it hehe. Did she like the pear? I'm looking forward to introducing different foods and letting Isaac play with it, squishing up banana and stuff and seeing what he likes.
Wow Sam has teeth! I missed that fb update.
Chuckie - what a bummer about the flight! Glad you got home safely though. Hopefully Pearl's sleep gets back to normal. Yep I have a Nikon D60 too, and I was using it on auto for a long time. Only just recently I've been using the manual settings. It is such an easy camera to learn on though, if you set the dial at the top to 'A', you can change just the apeture setting (with the wheel at the top of the back) and the camera will work out the shutter speed and everything else for you. Same if you select 'S', you can manually adjust the shutter speed and it will figure everything else out on its own. Very clever camera, its like it has training wheels. I started playing just by taking the same photo at different settings to see what happened to the images, then got more adventurous with it and started using it on manual. There are some pretty good photographers here on BB (in the hobbies threads) if you want to find out more about it, it's so addictive once you start getting into it though!
No, I'm not trying to get child support but I have to apply to get rejected before Centrelink will pay me all of the family tax benefit. Such a PITA.
Re study, that's exactly it - I'm finding that it's interfering with my time with Isaac. When I have an assignment due and NEED to get it done, I find I get really annoyed when Isaac is unsettled.. I don't relax, and instead of focussing on him and being all calm, I get really stressed and upset that I have to spend the time settling him instead of studying. I feel that Isaac should always come first, and there shouldn't be anything else I wish I was doing when I am with him IYKWIM. While his sleep is all over the place I'm going to just do things with no stress that I can put down and come back to whenever, like photography and sewing. I think I'll be much more relaxed and enjoy my time with him more. I'm still going to study though, but I'm going to put it off for a while until I know I can set aside the time for it. Great idea about the book btw, something to think about
Beflie - glad it was a quick bout of the horrors and hope everyone else dodged that one. Vertigo is not very nice.. Have the meds helped with DH?
Bec - your fb photos are great. thanks for posting the link. I was wondering the same thing about how I would be combining study and caring for Hannah. I agree with you, my primary concern is Hannah. Maybe it's just one of those things I need to try and find out for myself that it's not for me right now? I am sorry about David. It is his loss, but I imagine that you feel keenly for Isaac missing that opportunity. All you can do is what you've done - make yourself and Isaac available and it's up to him. Congrats on your RAK too - are you going to get an avvy? I think you should. Sterla did mine. I can send you the PM I sent her with my request if you like. Interesting about Isaac's skin colour on his legs. I am completely bonkers about keeping Hannah out of the sun. She is so fair.... so I even avoid going for walks at the mo during the hot part of the day. That means no walks until at least after 5.30pm here. I even have a uv block out for the pram. My DH has a Cannon EOS 5D - which he says is even more entry level than yours. LOL. I am just a full automatic girl, but DH takes some pretty nice shots.
Buzzie - that was so tough for you with Rob when you were pregnant with Ash. Have you asked Rob what he was thinking at the time and why he was behaving like that? I would be curious to know. Love the new pic of Bella too in your sig.
Fuzzy - yay for solids for Chloe. That's awesome... I am holding off with solids, mostly because I enjoy the exclusivity and closeness of breastfeeding - that and I am lazy - breast feeding is so much easier. It seems that Hannah is not ready yet but I doubt she's far off - she too is entranced when we eat. I make sure she sits with us at the table in her bumbo for at least one meal a day and I have given her a spoon and bowl to play with while we eat. I have started to put the spoon near her mouth and to the edge of her lip. It's just something I felt like doing, not sure if it's recommended or not. Awesome about you going to the gym..... I have decided I need a bit of a bomb under me so I am going to go back to gaelic training tomorrow night. I will start very slowly, given that I haven't run since January 2010. So tomorrow night Hannah and I will hit the pitch and I will see if I can eek out one lap ( the warm up) kick a few balls and maybe do some other drills and do some stretches and come home. I won't be able to smash myself like I used to, as I need to be able to have energy reserves to parent Hannah. But it's a start.
Chuckie - good work on making it through your trip but blah for delayed flights! It is so much harder by yourself.... I have so much respect for mums doing it solo ( yay Bec). The thing I have noticed about it, is when you're solo, you have to seek out help when you need it to have a break. When there is a partner around, even if they work long hours or aren't that interested, there is the knowledge that on the tough days that there is someone else at hand. Sorry that DH missed out on his time with Peal on the weekend.
AFM - we had our first swimming lesson on Saturday which was also DH's birthday. It was awesome! Hannah loved it and cried only when as the demonstration baby she was taken a bit to far away from me. Next week it's DH's turn in the water with her. We're going to make it regular thing, but it's a bit mind blowing to think I am committing to doing this activity for the next few years. But water safety and drowning prevention are important to me. I almost drowned as a little one and I have an aunt ( who I never met) who drowned at age 2. The place where we went was really set up for bubs - in a corner of the pool deck there were benches with about 10 change tables and wipes and bins and hand sanitiser. It was all indoors too. Was a bit muggy in the very hot and humid weather but it was ok. There was one little kiddie in the class with us, not sure of her age but maybe 18 months, who just cried and screamed almost the whole time. It almost made me cry at times... poor thing. But there were times when she didn't, so that's a start.
Yesterday we went to yum cha ( for DH's birthday and to celebrate Chinese New Year). OMG Hannah just loves going out. She smiles at all the wait staff. And another first, she actually went to sleep in her pram ( first time since we've stopped using the bassinette/carry cot).
Hannah is pretty varied in her day time sleeps and no set times, certainly can't set my clock by her. Sometimes she will only do one sleep cycle at a time- about 45 mins, and others she'll get 90 - 120 mins or more. But she's still pretty good at night - only waking once mostly but sometimes twice. Sometimes the settling works during the day and other times it doesn't. I can't work out a pattern. So if settling doesn't work I just get her up and do our usual play routine but make it shorter and put her back in an hour or when she's looking tired.
Another first - Hannah actually rolled on to her tummy and then slept there. Normally she cries after being on her tum.
Hi girls...So sorry I have been MIA lately..I have no excuse apart from pure laziness on my behalf!
Harlow is doing great so far...considering I don't do routine, never had one AT ALL with Jett, said we wouldn't have one for Harlow-little miss seems to have developed her own routine! I seem to just know when she goes down and gets up nd it all works brilliantly except for on a weekend when Daddy is home all weekend and she wants to stay up and hang out with him all day!!! Putting a blanket on the floor for her to play on is USELESS lately asshe just rolls and rolls and rolls and ends up on the other side of the room! Isn't it crazy just how much our babies have all grown up? Harlow has her MCHN appointment tomorrow, I'm so interested to see what she weighs now- she is still on 150ml bottles but her first morning bottle is a 200ml and she gulps that down..but if I give her a 200 during the day she won't finish it! I have noticed in the past week when I hold her on my lap she rocks herself back and forth non stop-Hope that is just normal baby behaviour, something new she learnt and nothing more...
The floods hit bigtime down here and my suburb was one of the worst hit, It was abit of apanicky moment, DP & Jett were at his parents when the floods hit and were stranded at his parents house and oculdn't get back home for hours..Harlow was a bit unsettled and I opened the frontdoor to find our road submerged in water!!! Once Harlow was down in her cot I was able to calm myself down and look outside again and see what was happening..The waters were rising SO quickly over the road but luckily it didn't come up to the house..All roads out of my suburb were blocked so no one could come in or out, Luckily David was able to make it home by following a 4wheel drive all the way, If he tried to come home an hour later the roads were closed completly. we went down the road the following day to the dry creek bed 5 houses down and it was overflowing, the water was amazing, raging so loudly!! The main thing is we are all safe and well and no damage except for my poor mum who got stuck in the floods and needed fire and police toget her car out only to go home and fine her garage flooded and she lost 90% of her photos of us growing up etc, luckily she works for a flood & fire restoration company, hopefully they can find someone down here who restores photos!
Hope you girls and bubs are all doing really well, sorry I have been so slack but i do wonder how you girls are all doing each day
Isnt it crazy - the eastern states are under water while we burn. Glad u are ok Wite
no teeth here either
And the gym was pretty tough - felt like I was going to wee my pants. Pretty sharp reality check and huge contrast to what I was able to do before.
Gave up on the solids for now until we have Chloe's sleeping in order. Trying to do too much at once. I have booked in for a day-stay at Ngala (6 hours with prof help). I thought it was super expensive then I found out that my health insurance covers the entire cost! So we are going in a few weeks. Decided on it this morning when it took me 2 hours to settle her and I threw her stuffed dog across the room in anger.
Dory - Yay for swimming lessons! And well done Hannah bear for only waking once at night (mostly ). Come over here and show Chloe how its done
Bec- it is hard trying to do everything that you want to do. I get into that trap too. Then, like you, I just look at my little one and think "what am I doing??" gotta spend as much time as possible with them while they are so small! Cram it all in, in those few hours they are asleep during the day.
Great idea fuzzy!! At this point she should be getting into a better pattern, so it's the perfect time and oppurtunity to get someone to help. They'll be able to give you advice and pinpoint what isn't working. I really hope it goes well for you!
Wite - So glad you are ok, this weather has been crazy.
Bec - I hope you have some luck getting through to David.
No teeth here either...
George is still travelling along nicely... during the day he sleeps 9-11, 1-2 and 4:30-5. He is in bed by 6:45, we dreamfeed at 9:30pm (we are winding this back slowly), and then he sleeps till 7:15am. He is almost like clockwork - I love it!
We were planning his Christening for May, but he is getting really big, so we are trying to move it forward to early March, just need to confirm with the church and restaurant. It's going to be an expensive affair - 80 people and most places I have tried seem to be around $60 a head for lunch... this is what happens when you get a Greek and Greek/Italian family together!
I'm starting to think I really need to get George into swimming or something... we have a pool in our building, maybe I'll just take him down there first to see how he goes. Lauren just said on fb that she is taking Bella to Gymbaroo this afternoon... please let me know how she goes, I wouldn't even know if George is ready for something like that.
dory - thanks, you're comments always make me feel a bit better Yep I'm going to get an avvy, I've put a request in, African themed! Swimming lessons is so much fun isn't it! We had our second one yesterday, Isaac just loves the water so much. There were a couple of older babies crying though. I think the older they start the harder it will be for them, there's more chance they will be scared of the water I think. I totally agree with you, water safety is just so important.
Wite - oh no so sorry to hear about the floods. I hope someone can restore your mums photos, how terrible to lose them.
fuzzy - good on you for getting help. Is Ngala a sleep school? On 7pm project last night they had something about sleep schools, and they seem to be all about controlled crying and other harsh methods so if that's not something you agree with then don't let them pressure you into it.
Connie - Babies swimming is really fun, lots of singing and interaction, going underwater and floating in float rings, George will love it! I missed Laurens fb update about Gymbaroo, I'll be interested to hear how that goes too as I've been thinking about starting Isaac in Kinder Gym very soon, I think its almost the same.
Has anyone used a hammock for their baby? Someone recommended a Happy Hangup, and they look awesome. Isaac goes to sleep bouncing on the fit ball, and this hammock bounces up and down too so I think he'll go to sleep really easily in one. Apparently they can use them until they are 3years old, so I'll get lots of use out of it I think for the cost. I love how they look, but has anyone here heard anything about them?
Connie - I went to an open day at gymbaroo with Chloe to check it out. Personally, I dont think its really worth it until they are older. Everything they showed me that they do with her - I already do at home anyway. For their age (non-mobiles) its all about singing, lots of touching (making them aware of their bodies), lots of tummy time and lots of movement (in all directions - so that get used to being off-balance), e.g. putting them on their tummy on a fit ball and rolling it forward and back so they kind of go a little upside down. Its getting them used to all these different feelings.
Bec - my friend used a hammock but only because their baby had reflux and it was the best way to get him to sleep. They hired it.
I just take Chloe round to my parents place for a swim. She loves the water. DH has even put her completely under a few times - he counts to three blows on her face so she takes a breath then sticks her under! She comes up a little startled but seems to like it. So cute
Had a better day here. I put her to bed and just left her. She grizzled for maybe 15 minutes then went to sleep! hoooray. Also our nights are getting better - she wakes at 12-12:30 then 4-4:30 then 7. So 2 times which is GREAT.
Fuzzy - that's a good idea of DH getting her to take a breath!
I started gymbaroo this week with bella and I did it with DS too, I agree it's all stuff you can do at home but the only reason I did it was to get out the house and be social for more my benefit than hers. I love the girls in my group.
So glad everyones loving swimming, I'm off soon to take DS, he's loving it too
Bec - had to giggle at your photo of David with just a tie lol maybe when issac is MUCH older :P who knows after some time he might be curious about issac, if not I hope you have found a man who's swept you off you feet cos you deserve it!
Kirsten - omg teeth already! Hope Sam is coping ok with them, I was very lucky they never bothered DS but Bella seems to be having some issues and constatly grinding on everything she gets her hands on, even my shoulder
Dory - with rob and I, it's a massive long story but in a nut shell, not something I like to say outloud but Rob had been with a gf for a few months when I fell pregnant. So what made it worse was he couldn't break up with her and so his family missed out knowing because of that. She finally dumped him just before DS was 1 and Rob wanted to start being around. It was a ridiculously crazy and stressful 3yrs and up until we made things official in November after his stupid messages I found, things have only gone 'normal' and have been brilliant. So my fighting paid off but I will always have that crap in the back of my head.
Well better go to swimming... Tool me 25mins to type that on my iPhone lol
Connie - ahhh too funny about the greek/greek/italian family traditions.. lotsa love! I can't believe George is like clock work. Nothing of the sort here. Hehe. Will George be christening Greek Orthodox or Catholic or something else? Just curious.
Buzzie - ah I remember that kerfuffle about the messages you found... for some reason I didn't make the connection. Dory moment for sure. I am glad you fought for what you wanted too, but you're right you can't erase those experiences from the back of your mind. Hope you enjoyed your outing!
Fuzzy - glad Chloe got a better nights sleep.... good work on sleep school. I have been thinking of going to one, just to see if I can learn anything new or different. I know what it's like to take hours to settle. Not in the middle of the night usually ( touch wood) but it can take me hours to settle Hannah during the day/evening. It can take that long at night if she's over tired. I am learning that I need to intervene more when she's over tired and do the shushhing and rocking and gradually withdraw rather than just do our usual routine and expect her to fall asleep by herself. I too have become so frustrated and overwhelmed I have thrown something ...my breast pads around the room.... not moments I am proud of.... but I wanted to know you're not alone. The thing that worries me, is that people say I am so patient? How is behaving like that patient? I just need to work on releasing my frustrations a different way... of course if she doesn't settle during the day I have the option of just stopping that futile activity and doing something else, but not at night... that's when we have to tough it out.
Though last night was a cracker for us, Hannah didn't sleep a good sleep since 10am, maybe one little cat nap when I BF'ed lying down on the bed, so it was always going to be tough... eventually after trying everything, I just got her up and cuddled her while DH read a book. Then into her cot with shusshing and rocking and tapping the cot, gradually withdrawing one at a time. It worked. 45 mins later she was screaming, but it just seemed like she had a fright or scary dream as after a cuddle and a quick comfort suck she was back to sleep. I always try to put her down during the day, and using the same routine and going through it more than once... and some days she sleeps and others she doesn't.
Belfie - hope the household has remained gastro free.
Bec - you're welcome. I think the hammock sounds great... I always wanted one, but not sure they are a good idea for us with 3 very inquisitive and playful cats in the house.... they might just think it's a nice bed for them or something to play with. Poor Hannah if that happened. Nice new pic of Isaac too.
. Thank god my mum Is here!! Luckily I seem to improving already. OMG I have renewed sympathy for DH's vertigo just having it briefly was AWFUL!
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). Are the agency going to track him down to make him pay child support? Do you then have to go through all the prooving he's the father thing? Gee sorry maybe I shouldnt ask all these questions. I think you are doing such an amazing job. You and Belfie are our supermums
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