MissE hope Ash's teeth don't cause him too many dramas, poor little guy. Enjoy having the family visit, I bet they can't wait to see him!
Sloane, aren't they just gorgeous at this age It sounds like he is rearing to go!
As for us... Arlea is a little unsettled again / still... not sure what is going on...teeth maybe? I can't see or feel anything & it's not the right time for a wonder week... who knows, maybe she is just growing & changing. Somedays she is good, others not so good. Really it's sleep that is the biggest problem, she is cat-napping again & having trouble getting to sleep.
Solids are going great, we are doing a combination of BLS & purees as she isn't quite 6 months yet. She loves her food & opens up when she sees the spoon. We just have to watch ehr as she can be a bit of a piggy
Jetta her poos have become firmer too, she is going more often but she was only having a dirty nappy once every 3-4 days, now it is more like every day or two. She has water too.
I am off this afternoon to see The Lovely Bones with DD1, we have both read the book & can't wait to see the movie.
Another quick post - aren't we all doing this at the moment
Blake's doing well so far. 6 months old now - has his check up next week at the GP as I want to check some stuff out about his dermatitis (again!) as it's not going away for more than 1 1/2 days max at a time.
We started solids on Christmas Day - a wedge of tomato that he chased around the bumbo seat table and a piece of cucumber that he had a taste of. Boxing Day he rather liked his roast parsnip and potato that we offered him (in a high chair at my parents). Then we skipped a few days - didn't have high chair that worked for him (too low) but we do have one that works for him now. Last night we had roast vege again and he REALLY likes roast parsnip - gnawing it a great deal. (We're doing the Baby Led Solids thing as I know I won't have time to puree and mush stuff up once I go back to school at the end of the month.)
I'm kind of over his waking up all the time over night - I know it's normal but I want the 5-6 hour sleep that he used to have back. We had a few nights of every 1 - 2 hours waking; last night was 3hrly again so maybe we're getting back to it. And I wish he'd sleep more than 3/4 - 1 hour at a time during the day (max of 3 sleeps between 7:30am and 5:30/8:30pm)
leckert - I hope the sleep thing sorts itself out soon for you - it does seem to be just something they go through at this age, doesn't it?
jasp - hope you and DD1 enjoyed the movie together
sarah - corey and Zac still sound like they're copying each other! Zac can cover quite scary distances when my back is turned, just by wriggling around on his tummy. His bum is starting to go up in the air now and he's kind of got some crawling action with his legs - just no momentum yet.
MissE - have fun with the inlaws!!
AFM - had the 6mth MCHN visit yesterday - Zac is 9.4kg and 71.5cm long. He has really turned into a little Tonka boy! He started babbling in the weekend - lots of 'dadada', some 'mumumum' and 'bababa'. Oh, and some extremely high-pitched squealing.
I think he's moving towards two daytime sleeps now - I'm finding it very confusing cos anything resembling a routine has completely gone out the window. He's also had a few nights of waking up screaming every 45 minutes or so
We're booked in to the Early Parenting Unit in Koo Wee Rup in a couple of weeks' time which I'm looking forward to. Apparently they won't have anything to do with CIO / control crying, but focus more on recognising tired signs and teaching settling techniques. I figure at the very least we'll have a nice day out!
After that we're heading to NZ for a few weeks as hubby is working there for a month so we will spend some time with him in Wellington and time with our families in Christchurch - very exciting.
Happy New Year! And happy 6 months to all our little ones!!
I’m hoping some of you still remember me; even though it’s been such a long time since I posted.
I made a new years resolution to make a bit more of an effort to get online, particularly when I have family & friends interstate that don’t get to see Annie regularly. And of course this included catching up with you all as much as I can too. I have to admit it’s been so strange not being on the PC much; particularly when I lived on here, before Annie arrived! I’m sure some of you would remember my marathon posts as a belly buddy!
Our first few months as new parents were a little rocky… and a terribly steep learning curve! I actually think it was a shame I didn’t get the time to chat with you all, as I’m sure many of you could have given me some words of wisdom & support that I really needed at the time.
Without making this a marathon ‘me’ story – just want to share a little bit of our journey, as explanation of my absence…
Well Annie arrived a little earlier than we expected on the 4th July (EDD 15th July), and DH & I climbed aboard the roller coaster of our lives!
I went in to spontaneous labour, but my blood pressure went skyward & Annie became seriously distressed… so it all resulted in an unplanned emergency caesarean…
Meeting Annie was just an amazing experience… what a joy to finally look in to the eyes of the little person that had been bouncing around inside me for almost 9 months!
After a short stay in hospital, I still remember arriving home for our 2nd wedding anniversary (7th July), walking through the front door & looking at DH and saying ‘what do we do now?’!!
The first few weeks were a bit of a blur, as we spent our days just keeping on top of how to feed, change, settle, etc… If I got a shower & breakfast before midday, I was doing well! Fortunately, DH had the first 6 weeks at home with me and I healed really well… all a blessing!
Annie cried a lot; but being first time parents & not having spent a whole lot of time around new bubs, we really had no concept of what was normal. Initially, we thought she had bad wind… & I think I actually posted on here looking for advice & I probably didn’t get back on to thank those of you that had shared experiences and advice – so I’m sorry for the late appreciation!!… We tried lots of things – different techniques, different products, etc… As it turns out we were heading down the completely wrong path; Annie was finally diagnosed with silent reflux (or infant heartburn) at 9 weeks (following a routine appt with a midwife who got to experience a crying episode – and she insisted we make an appt with a paed asap). Poor little pumpkin, apparently her little oesophagus was red raw by this stage, from all the stomach acids that had been burning her during her first 9 weeks!. So we started her on meds (losec) twice a day… meds that were supposed to reduce the amount of acid in her tummy; however, we were told it could take up to 10 days for it take affect. Anyway, there was a whole lot more crying… and by this stage, Annie had associated feeding with pain… so we had a few weeks where she didn’t gain weight, which was awful and she would cry (as would I) & fuss at every feed. This took soooo long to get past… I honestly think it was a good couple of months before she really started to ‘enjoy’ feeding.
Our Paed told us to begin Annie on solids by 4 months, which we did & I do think this has helped. I took it really slow, with only a single meal of rice cereal for a good few weeks – and now she’s on all sorts of vegies & fruits. Fortunately, she’s taken to solids exceptionally well.
We are still on meds, but by default we are actually weaning her, as she grows & we aren’t increasing the dosage. We have tried to drop it back a couple of times in recent months, but without success so far. It also has meant we’ve had lots of trouble with teaching her to self settle; sleep through the night; daytime naps… I started sleeping her on her tummy at around 2.5/3mths; as she just seemed to settle so much better. Even though I’ve had many well meaning people tell me I’m doing the wrong thing & significantly increasing her risk of SIDS. But I was desperate for her to get some sleep!
On reflection, I didn’t do too well at coping during the early months. I found it hard to adapt to motherhood, as it was all so new. And up until this point in my life, if I needed a new skill I would do a course, read a book, study, research etc to obtain it… but there was nothing I could really do to give me all the skills I needed for motherhood… so I felt really out of control, like I was doing everything wrong, particularly when Annie was finally diagnosed. I really beat myself up & still feel terrible that it took us so long to do something for the poor little thing. She was suffering so much in those early days & if anything we were making it worse by trying to ‘treat wind’ – by making her burp, etc… all things that increased the amount of acid that would come up & burn her! No wonder she would scream!! And like a lot of people, unfortunately we don’t have a lot of supportive family close by, so I didn’t really have anyone near or staying with us to provide support or an extra pair of hands.
I think I’ve finally accepted that I honestly did the best I could as a new Mum. And I’m certainly grateful that Annie’s condition is easily treated & now manageable. There are so many people much worse off than us. But I certainly struggled within myself for a long time.
Well now that we are past all that, we’re really enjoying our little girl; she is such a delight & much more contented these days - although we're still working on mastering good sleep routines! We are loving watching her learn & develop every day; she’s very easy to love. And I think she’s forgiven us for all the pain she went through in those early weeks!!! Although she did have that imploring look last week as the Doctor gave her, her 6 month needles… like ‘hey Mum, Dad, this woman is hurting me & you guys aren’t stopping her!’
Anyway that’s where I’ve been, I really look forward to sharing more with you all & catching up on some personals soon. I’m sorry I’ve missed being there for any of you during your own challenges and tough times… and of course enjoying all the good stuff with you as well.
A heartfelt thank-you to those of you that reached out to me in those early days, it really meant a lot to me, even if I didn’t share my appreciation at the time!
Deb, great to hear from you again! I'm sorry to hear those first few weeks with Annie were so difficult, but by the sounds of things everything is going great now!
Cate I hope the parenting program is worthwhile, I'd love Ash to do 2 naps a day, but I think he's still quite a way off that, we're only just getting down to three consistently now...
Leckert, I'll have to try Ash on the parsnip, I'm sure he'll love it. Don't worry too much, our night sleeps are all over the place at the moment. It seems sureal to think that it was only a few weeks ago that he was sleeping through consistently, because I don't see any sign of that happening again soon. I keep telling myself it's the teething, but some how I think it is more to do with his age...
Congratulations Naomi! How exciting, have you set a date?
How was the movie Jasp? I've been wanting to see that one, who knows when I will get to though, probably have to wait till it comes out on dvd.
Sarah it is so cute when they get up on all fours. I think Ash is like Corey in that he is getting very frustrated at the moment, he desperately wants to be able to move and sit himself up (he can sit up but we have to position him). I'm really looking forward to it too, I think he will be a lot happier when the time comes.
AFM we have DH's mum and aunt here from the states at the moment. It's been great for them to meet Ash, but it has been pretty full on. They leave on Friday and then his Dad comes for two weeks... I do wonder how Ash is going to go when things go back to normal after a month of craziness... hopefully it won't be too bad...
Anyway, better run. Hope all is well with everyone x
MissE, movie was good, I liked it but DD was disappointed, it was a bit different to the book although not hugely & I think that's kind of par for the course you know? As a movie in itself it was good though.
Enjoy all those visitors! hope things don't get too crazy for you.
Deb great to hear from you! sorry those first weeks were so hard but it's so good to hear things are going well now.
Cate the parenting unit sounds interesting, I did a stay at a place years ago with one of the boys but they did CIO & I hated it. Would be very interested to hear what techniques they use. Our routine (such as it was ) has gone out the window here too, I think it might be a developmental / age thing?
Liz I hope you can get some more sleep soon. We are much the same here with day sleeps.
Naomi Congratulations! I only just read your post now. That's so exciting, good luck with all the planning!
AFM I am swapping Arlea's dinner for breakfast for a few days. Three nights in a row she has been awake at 1:30 - 2am pooing & then playing for 2 hours... not sure if it's solids related but I guess we'll find out. She didn't do it last night but we were away Friday night & she was MEGA tired yesterday. So will see how tonight goes. It might just be an age thing I know - I kind of hope it is, because I think BLS will be a bit easier to start at night when we are all at the table. Maybe we can ease back into dinner...
So much for my plan of more regular online catch ups...!! Where does the days & weeks go!?!?
Thanks so much for welcoming me back & for all your sweet words of support & encouragement. I have really missed you girls.
Jas - happy 6 months Arlea!! Annie was 7.9kg at her 6mth needles, which puts her close to the 75th percentile... so I don't think you need to be too concerned. I too have been a bit worried, because my milk supply has dropped off dramatically in the past couple of weeks. And like Arlea she's never really been that interested in milk, but very much enjoying her solids - which is great. I was thinking of trying fenugreek to boost my supply.
Is Arlea waking for feeds every 3-4 hrs? Annie still wakes (at least) twice a night.. always for a quick feed. I imagine she'll grow out of it eventually... and you know I always thought I'd want to wean her at around 6mths, but that's been & gone and I don't think I'm ready!! (notice the 'i'm' ready... not Annie!) They sure are growing fast!
Storm - sounds like Miss Hayley will be on the move very soon! Cute that she laughs at the dog. What sort of dog have you got? And I'm much the same with the whole baby proofing thing... not really sure where to start... beginning to think a big play pen might be easier initially!!
Oh I too have been freezing the ole Prune juice - $6 for what you can use in 5-7 days for a baby didn't seem very economical! I'm giving Annie 1 block a day for breakfast... I have now cut that back to every 2nd day or as she needs it. A constipated baby isn't fun... Annie used to almost hyperventilate when she had to 'go'... almost like she was really scared. Very disappointing that your Dr was no help! I too would have been concerned if I'd found blood! Poor little thing!
And I hear you about the 30-40min daytime 'naps'! Its amazing what you can squeeze in, in such a short time! But it does go fast!
Jess - sounds like little Anton is doing really well!
Jetta - LoL at the 180 degree spin! Annie is doing the same in her cot... never in the same place you initially put her! And the bum thrusting sounds hilarious! Sounds like you are doing really well with working & expressing! Good on you! Annie is awake anywhere from 1.5 to 3hrs... just depends on the day, how much sleep she's had (night or naps) and what we've been doing during the day. I usually know when its been around 2hrs though, as that's when she's usually showing some tired signs.
Jessica - good to hear Sophie is doing well. Congrats on a March wedding!! How are your preparations going? And yay for moving out!!!
Naomi - Congrats on your engagement! I've taken note of your suggestion of what worked for Cam's digestion... just in case we hit some more hurdles as we introduce different foods. Thanks for the tip!
Cate - sounds like you got some good things out of the settling clinic. Responsive settling sounds like a really good approach. Hope you are busy enjoying NZ and that flying with your little man ran smoothly!
Miss E - Sorry to hear Ash was unwell after his needles. Annie certainly had a few irritable days... but I now think it was more to do with digestion, rather than needles... it's so hard to know sometimes!'
How are you managing with all the visitors? I really don't know how you do it! I'm sure your FIL will understand that you don't want Ash to get sick! Difficult situation, but you really have to do what's best for your little man. Thanks for the cruskit tip - I hadn't thought to try them - always looking for new 'snacks' Annie can hold. The best tip I got from one of the mum's in my mum's group is raw carrot sticks from the fridge as a teether. Annie loves them... and they're cheap & can be thrown away when they've been dropped on the floor!!
What meats have you tried with Ash & how have you cooked them? I'm just curious, because I want to introduce meats to Annie's diet, but not real sure where to begin.
I just read your status on FB... sounds like your little man is going to be running before you know it!!
Sarah - Thanks for sharing your routine, its always interesting reading what other mum's are doing. My routine with Annie is very similar to yours - however, Annie's never been one to 'demand BF', so it's up to me to offer it to ensure she's hydrated & getting enough! Not always easy! And we too have had the most success with solids about an hour after a BF. I do try to eat with Annie as much as I can... not always practical - but we also eat dinner after she's gone to bed.
AFU - Well it seems like every week Annie decides to come up with something new... a new sound, a new routine (read "shorter naps" "less sleep"), a new way to move, a new facial expression!! Never a dull moment... I just can't believe how fast its all happening! When was I supposed to baby proof the house?? I think that boat is very close to sailing...
And we've decided Annie's first word is a growl... DH & my fault for playing "that" game too often! DH said that she'll get to an age where she'll turn to us and say "So I'm not actually a bear?" lol
And I'm constantly amazed at what she gets excited about. It can be the most bizarre objects... but she gets 'whole body' excited & makes the funniest noises. Isn't it great looking at the world through a child's eyes again!? Even the empty paper towel roll is a source of wonderment... trumpet? drumstick? pirates telescope? Who needs toys???
Oh I just read the '4th page'... I somehow missed it going backwards!! oops.
Jessica - you know how they say 'mum knows best'... if you feel your little one is happy & healthy ... and just on the small side, then perhaps there's no cause for concern. But I'm guessing it could be a common thing to try & 'fatten up' bubs, so there's sure to be some other forums out there with more advice?? Just a thought.
Oh & don't stress that Sophie doesn't stand up when held. There's a couple of bubs in our mum's group who are the same... just different stages of development & interests... I'm sure she'll manage it in her own time.
Eve - well I didn't really need to ask how you are coping with your visitors. You poor thing... I can completely understand that you are OVER it!!! Time to get your house & family back. LoL that 'the baby' reference is getting too much... I definitely think I'd feel the same!! And maybe I wouldn't be as patient as you have, they probably would have been told to use his name by now!!! I really hope the next few days go fast, but that you still have some special time with your visitors. Big hugs.
Annie has just started to go from sitting to all fours too, it is really sweet to watch... much more graceful than the tummy or face plant!! Keep smiling!
Okay that's enough of a marathon for me... time to shut up & go to bed!
It sounds like he is rearing to go!
Reply With Quote
- a wedge of tomato that he chased around the bumbo seat table and a piece of cucumber that he had a taste of. Boxing Day he rather liked his roast parsnip and potato that we offered him (in a high chair at my parents). Then we skipped a few days - didn't have high chair that worked for him (too low) but we do have one that works for him now. Last night we had roast vege again and he REALLY likes roast parsnip - gnawing it a great deal. (We're doing the Baby Led Solids thing as I know I won't have time to puree and mush stuff up once I go back to school at the end of the month.)
And I wish he'd sleep more than 3/4 - 1 hour at a time during the day (max of 3 sleeps between 7:30am and 5:30/8:30pm)
and 71.5cm long. He has really turned into a little Tonka boy! He started babbling in the weekend - lots of 'dadada', some 'mumumum' and 'bababa'. Oh, and some extremely high-pitched squealing.
great to hear from you! sorry those first weeks were so hard but it's so good to hear things are going well now.
) has gone out the window here too, I think it might be a developmental / age thing?
I only just read your post now. That's so exciting, good luck with all the planning!
Bookmarks