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Hi ladies,
Belfie - thanks heaps for sharing your sleep strategy with us. Sounds like you have two totally different kids there - funny same parents + same parenting style = 2 totally different kids needing totally different strategies! Thanks goodness you got some great advice from the sleep consultant and it worked! How is A going now? Any further improvements? I ended up ringing the parent helpline the other day and they suggested keeping P up for longer between day sleeps and if she gets tired and cranky give her a top up feed to help her push through a bit longer. I have been trying it and it seems to work really well!!! I am just going to get a system happening so she has a short nap in the morning and her longer nap in the arvo, followed by another short nap before bed time. I am going to keep her up for about three hours between sleeps (instead of the two hours I was keeping her up). I am hoping that next week we can really get stuck into it after experimenting a bit this week. I was stuck in the newborn feed, play, sleep routine and she is getting way too old for that now so allowing myself to give her that bonus feed was a bit of a breakthrough for me.
Fuzzy - GREAT news re the pay!! I don't know how you are even thinking about working - even only 15hrs a week!!! Some weeks I struggle to find the energy to clean the house so work as well would be jolly hard!
Bec - I love your avi!
Dory - sounds like Hannah is just socially advanced because normally bubs doin't start that clingy behaviour for a couple of months. Pearl is generally pretty good with others but since we have no family here she spends way too much time with me and DH so I can see that it may be a prob in the future.
I have decided to give Uni a miss at this time - a few reasons but mainly after listening to Bec's experience and knowing I have other things on my plate like Pearl, building a house, being a scout leader, the board I am on and I have also started up a little communications consultancy (thought I should try and bring in some cash since we are getting a huge mortgage to build the house). Am still in the promo stage and am yet to get any work but I will see how I go. I have spent very little on the start up so I have nothing to lose! I have started to feel little bumps in P's gums where I reckon teeth are going up and down - might pop a couple of the teething rings in the fridge and see if she likes them more cool. A bub from our mum's group has started crawling!!! she is a few weeks older than P and has older siblings but it is still funny to see a bub the same size as P moving around. As far as I am concerned P can take as long as she wants to start those shenanigans! Last night we tried another mummy sleeps in the lounge and daddy feeds P - it didn't work that well she just refused the bottle completely - poor DH! I am sure she will start sleeping through soon enough and then we can all sleep!
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fuzzy - awesome news about your pay! Well done for working too, that's something I don't think I could manage just yet.
Belfie how is Annika's sleep going now?
dory how sweet, Hannah being a little bit clingy already. I think Chuckie is right, sounds like she's socially advanced. Isaac is the opposite, I think he'd be happy to go with anyone. Our playgroup is at a preschool, and just about every week one of the girls takes him over to the pre school part for a little walk, I don't think he even notices I'm not there.. just too busy soaking up the attention I suppose.
Chuckie ooh I feel bad for my experience being a reason for you not studying just yet. Everyone's study habits are different and I did find it really hard.. it was just too demanding at the moment for me. I do think you've done the right thing even if by just postponing it a little, I learnt the hard way that I don't want anything in my life that makes me not want to be with Isaac because of assignment deadlines etc.
Good luck with the new business!
thanks for the nice comments about my avi! Sterla did it (thanks Dory!) and she made me look a wee bit sexy, and in Africa! Yay!
As for me, I'm still trying to find something I can do to earn some money from home. I've been sewing, making simple toys like soft blocks so far to see if I can sell them. I really need to do something as I can't rely on Centrelink. I've never had to get benefits before, even when I was doing volunteer work earning $100 a month for a year and a half, I lived on my savings, and just hated the thought of having to go to Centrelink to apply for payments when Isaac was born. So anyway I've got this crazy idea that I might be able to earn money from my hobbies, if I don't then at least I would have enjoyed doing it!
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Bec - i agree with everyone else - awesome avi! You do look quite sexy in it he he. Hmm gotta upgrade I think so I can do the same. At the very least I can look sexy in my avi as its certainly NOT happening in real life. ha ha. man i have to get a haircut and some waxing done. Great idea trying to make money from your hobby. Love your job and you never work a day in your life :) Great pics on FB too
Chuckie - good idea with the consultancy! Hope it all goes well and brings in some cash for you. Teeth! Yikes - keep us posted
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Fuzzy - that is very awesome about your severence pay! Yay! I haven't actually felt in Hannah's mouth with my fingers for a while, in fact I will do it tomorrow! They grow up so fast... teeth... already!
Bec - Hannah loves attention, just either from the safety of my arms or my presence. She loves being handed around when we go out.... just not to far from me/dh please. Isaac is such a ladies man... I love it.
Chuckie - you are really busy already sweetie. How has it been going back to Scouts? My Dad used to be involved in Scouts ( before girls were allowed so I was relegated to brownies and guides.... in my view at the time... the poor cousins). GL with the consultancy. Glad the sleep strategies are working... it's weird isn't it, that all of a sudden they go from 1 hour to 2 hours to 3 +. I think that today I may not have fed Hannah for 3 hours ( god... the guilt...lol) and she wasn't even fussy and she was up for 3 hours. But then other days she's tired and needs a sleep at 90 mins to 2 hours. Poor DH, it did make my smile a little.... Pearl just has a way of getting her own way. Cheeky Monkey. I agree - NO CRAWLING yet please. I like being able to put Hannah down and know she's pretty much going to be in the one spot. I am not sure it's a bad thing, Pearl spending time with you and DH... it's good bonding and good for the development of secure attachments... but does probably make it hard for you to have a break.
Belfie - hope miss Annika is sleeping better. How is DH going on his new meds?
Connie - 6 of March is getting closer... I always feel a bit manic before a function I am organising and relieved when it's over, but then looking forward to the next one. It's madness. Are there any particular traditions that you're looking forward to sharing with George?
Bec - you look smokin' in your avvy.
AFM? Well last night poor wee Hannah had some of the worst wind pains I think she's ever had. We gave her some infacol, and it helped a little but funnily enough at one point she blew a massive bubble. Has that happened to anyone else? She's never done it before. It was pretty funny. Anyway, she was just so out of sorts and I was getting hungry so instead of persevering in her room I took her out to the lounge and ate our home made pizza ( yep Wite, still making pizza dough on fridays.. this one wasn't really fluffy) and bounced on the fit ball and watched some tv. She settled down and when I took her to her room to the rocking chair she would start up again. It happened twice, so I thought, right you're just tired now. So I put her to bed, and did some settling strategies and she was asleep in no time.. 2 1/2 hours after the first wind pain cry. She was ok for her 2.30am feed, but her 5.30am feed she woke whimpering and then let out some massive farts. Poor kid.
I think I might take her to the Dr's for a check.... pretty much now, there is hardly any residue/substance to her poo.. it's more like a wet nappy but with coloured staining, sometimes there will be a residue. I don't know if it's because she's using all available goodness from the breast milk and so there is little left to excrete and she hardly takes any forumla supplements any more or if there is a problem.
Anyway, better go. Some things I want to look up on the net. Hope everyone has a good night.
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Dory - Ditto to a bad night with wind pain. I think it was the chilli mussels I had for lunch yesterday... Poor little Hannah. Good idea, if you are worried to get her checked out. Let us know how you go. I would be interested to hear about normal poo. Sometimes Chloe's are full of little chunks of stuff everywhere and it freaks me out a bit!
edit: noticed my sig says 4 months 4 weeks... weird
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Fuzzy - chilli mussels! I've heard different theories about the extent what you eat affects bubs. A friend of mine said their private middie told them only 1 % of what you eat goes through the breast milk.. I think that means in terms of tastes? Not sure actually what that means. I think it's meant to mean " don't feel guilty about it". But I have found out by trial and error there are some foods that will give Hannah wind, without fail or it's a very wacky coincidence and I should by a lottery ticket.
Sorry that Chloe had wind... it's just hard to see them in pain and just have to wait it out... it seems like we aren't able to comfort them at all.
About poo? I will get Hannah checked out, but based on the reading I have been doing - is it seedy sort of things that you're seeing? If so that's normal. It does get more paste like if they're on formula.
I went to a baby shower yesterday and one of the games was taste testing baby foods in the nappy. I am pretty robust, but the smell of that stuff was a little off putting and I had just finished slurping down a really nice hot chocolate.... so I didn't taste them but I did stick my nose in and smell them. I wonder if it would have smelt any better if they weren't in a nappy?
Bec - are you a good sewer? I met a lady who made her own pram liner and she had even made little liners to cover the shoulder strap pads. OMG - it was soooo cute. I want one, but given she's looking after a 7 week old, maybe now isn't the time to ask? But maybe that's something you could do and either sell them on line or at markets? I can ask her about the pattern if you like?
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dory - oh no the wind pains are so awful. Isaac is still getting them too, but every night poor thing. Last night he was just screaming and I had already given him infants friend and panadol and there was just nothing I could do but hold him. I think I've seen those pram liners you're talking about, a friend has one which is a baby wrap, it has the holes for the pram/bouncer straps to go through. I might ask her if I can check it out to get an idea for the pattern and give it a go. I've been making soft blocks out of African fabric, and I actually started a shop on made it but I'm too shy about it to put the link to it on fb or anything. I'm a terrible marketer!! I did put up a pic of one of my toys on fb yesterday, and today a friend I go to swimming with asked me about them, so that's a good start I suppose.
fuzzy - your ticker would be right with the 4 months and 4 weeks, as there are 28 days in 4 weeks and there were 31 days in January. Or something, I don't know now I am confused as yesterday was the 20th. Oh well it says five months now though.. Happy 5 months Chloe!
re poo, Isaacs poo is really runny with no lumps lately, just like paint. But he still only poos every 3 or 4 days so I don't know if that makes any difference.
Last night we had a shocker.. Isaac woke every hour with either wind pains or teething pains, pulling his ear and crying. It's just not normal for him but it's happening more and more lately. I am going insane from it. He had two nights in a row where he woke at 4am for a feed, but then last night was the same as 3 nights ago. I don't know what to do. Maybe the happy hangup will help. I hope.
I just got my happy hangup delivered today! The hooks in the loungeroom and bedroom are going up tomorrow but I really wanted to try it out so I hung it in a doorway with the jolly jumper hanger. When I first put Isaac in it he just looked a bit stunned, like he was figuring out where this bouncy movement was coming from.. he just laid there, and watched me so calmly while I bounced it and talked to him, and 10 minutes later he closed his eyes and slept! I am so happy with it already. Lately he has been really hard to settle, I bounce him on the fit ball but its like he's fighting sleep by twisting and turning and protesting so seeing him just drift off like that was just so nice.
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Oh Bec - I hope the happy hangup helps too - off to a good start.... FX for you..... I am sorry no tips, just lots of love and strength... my couple of doses of really bad nights have me just hoping things get better soon. Poor blossom just pulling his ears..... in reality life is just so tough for a baby.
I got myself a hooter hider thingy today.... a cover for BF'ing. LOL, I know it's late in the piece.... but when I was out yesterday it was so crowded I didn't want to feed Hannah right there in the middle of a packed restaurant but there was no where else really suitable.. I ended up on some stairs... partially hidden from view. It was peaceful for us and more comfortable that it would have otherwise been, but hopefully now I won't have that problem again. Of course my problem is made worse as I don't have any nursing tops, so now the public doesn't have to be exposed to my mummy tummy.
I am going to look up happy hangup - hope you have a better night tonight Bec. I will put a link on my FB if you want.... I am not so good at marketing and stuff either... but you are worth it.
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