Babies born~July 1st-15th 2009 #3

[Miss E]

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

[Fleur]

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...

Hope everyone else is well

[ss_storm]

deb- i'm sorry your first weeks with your little girl weren't the best...but you know she won't remember how it was, and the main thing is you've got it sorted now!
Jasp- hope the swapping meals works...you poor thing up at 2am playing! Lol

Sorry cant do more personals...have dinner on the go and Hayley has been screaming on and off for the last half hour, she is in bed and *this* close to going to sleep but at the last second starts crying again.

I feel like crap at the moment...i think Hayley and I have head lice...I don't know how we got them because we have been in close contact with absolutely no one. I feel so horrible, how does a 6 month old get head lice! Just want to cry... Will be getting some stuff for DF & I tomorrow, but will have to use conditioner on Hayley, wont be easy as she is so wriggly at the moment.

Everything else is going well though, solids are bit on and off..lol. She has had abit of mango over the last couple of days which she seemed to love, some nectarine and have also mixed some cooked pear into her rice cereal. She only ever seems to eat a couple of teaspoons though.

[sloane]

deb - it's so good to hear from you! i was on fb yesterday morning & saw your xmas pics & was just thinking we hadn't heard from you for ages! i'm sorry those first weeks were tough. i can def relate to those feelings of being out of control because there's no course to prepare you. and no advice anyone gives you really means anything till you're there yourself. i'm glad it's all worked out though & from the photos i saw, you have a very happy & healthy little girl so you guys are obviously doing all the right things i've missed your posts - so i hope we get to see lots more of you from now on

jas - i think it might be an age thing, corey is still waking lots during the night but instead of always going straight back to sleep with a feed, he usually has one time where he takes longer to settle. only up to an hour so far, but that's long enough in my book!

miss e - sounds like a hectic month for you! with the crawling it's a double-edged thing, isn't it? i'm sure our boys will be much happier (or less frustrated) when they can get around, but eeek - this is all happening so fast! i thought there was at least another couple of months before we got to this point!!

ss_storm - that sounds so annoying. i hope the stuff clears it up really quickly for you guys. and yes to the wriggling - nappy changes are getting to be challenging!

cate - kooweerup sounds good. i can't wait to hear about the settling techniques. sometimes i wonder if i'm missing something totally obvious when it comes to settling corey!! i can't believe how much zac has grown!

leckert - i hear you about the sleeps. i really thought that by 6 months we might be heading in the right direction! i hope it settles down for you before you go back to work.

afm, corey is is still up on all 4's but has started rocking. he can work out to move his legs but not his arms so he's done a few face plants. he also seems to have an insatiable appetite...but with all his feedings i think we already knew that

[jetta2022]

Hi Guys!
Happy New Year everyone and I can see that everyone had a lovely Christmas.

Sloane - so good about Corey being on all 4's! I can't believe it. Sam is doing this bottom thrusting thing at the moment which is so funny!!

jasp - we have been experiencing some things which I can't work out if they are solids related or not but I know what you mean. I feel like I am back at day 1 all over again.

Miss E - sounds like you have been very busy! Hope things settle down soon!
Debee - glad you are back! I am sorry to hear about your time, I think being a first time mum is hard enough let alone not knowing what you can do and what is wrong. I am glad that you finally had some help and someone heard the crying, I think a lot of times people just think you are carrying on but you know that something is wrong. I hope things are improving.

Lovelycate- I hope you have a great holiday! I love NZ, my mum is from there and we go there alot. Have a great time!

Sorry for not being on for ages and lack of personals. We have had a 2 week break which has been great. We have loved spending every minute with Sam and I have had to go back to work 2 days a week again and I am miserable. We run our own business so this year I will start 3 days, hubbys mum looks after Sam two days and hubby will look after Sam one day so we both get a break from work as he had a hard time without me last year. I don't mind that, but I just miss Sam so much and can't express as much milk as he would have if off the boob so I stress out about him not getting enough. Can you give formula sometimes??
AFM, Sam is doing well and growing all the time, he is really taking in everything around him and everyone always comments on how placid he is. He has started rolling and sits up for a few seconds! We are having issues with settling at night. Settles for each day sleep (3) but then at night he howls and howls and won't settle. The only thing that helps is a top up again after 20 minutes of crying which builds up and then I go up, try dummy, mobile etc and then after 1 hour of rocking etc give him a top up, it calms him down and then he gets himself off to sleep. I am so confused about how much solids I should be giving him, I am probably overanalysing but I feel like I am back at day 1 all over again. I have had him on solids for almost a month just a small amount (1 tablespoon of farex or fruit or vegies) at lunch time and wanted to take it slow. Since that time is when he started not settling at night with wind etc now just doesn't settle. I have just in the last two days introduced solids in the morning. He is having 5 feeds a day and was looking at taking out the 10pm feed as I didn't think he needed it, hence introducing solids in the morning to increase to two feeds. Anyway, he projectile vomited 3 times in a row yesterday so not sure why but was happy anyway. Anyway, I don't really know where I am going with this!! But I am trying to read him but I have no idea!! I will stop babbling now. Ahh....

Hope everyone is well and will try to be on here more often.

[lovelycate]

hi everyone

debbee - great to hear from you. sounds like you had a really rough time to start with but it's looking much more positive now!

jetta - Zac has been on combined formula and BF since birth, so yes, you can definitely give formula sometimes and remain BFing. The only thing you might have to look out for when you try formula is that it is very rich in iron, so babies who have been exclusively BFed often get a bit constipated. Also, if it's going to be a regular thing you need to be aware that decreasing the amount of BFs will drop your supply, so you might want to express a bit to keep that up until you've decided what you're doing. You could also combine EBM with formula to lessen the risk of constipation, although if you've started solids you may be ok anyway.

everyone - re solids - I don't know whether it's the starting solids or that we've moved up to the next stage of formula (or a combination of both), but Zac's sleeps are a bit weird too. Then again it could just be a developmental thing - who knows?!

I feel a bit bad sometimes because I'm not very consistent with the solids - hopefully I'm not confusing him too much!

[jetta2022]

Lovelycate - thanks for that info on mixing breast feeding and formula. That is good advice about expressing too to just make sure things are okay. Thank you!

Yeah with the sleeps, I don't know whether its food related or just him changing. He is getting teeth as well but he has been fine with that. His day sleeps he settles really well but its just at night so it has reallly thrown me as I thought well if its his teeth it would be all through the day. Today my MIL said that he only slept this morning for 2 hours and then wouldn't sleep the rest of the day. It then took me 1 1/2 hrs to settle him tonight after 3 lots of feeding, rocking, dummy and mobile! I think that it is just becuase we have been home for 2 weeks and MIL was back first time today so perhaps it was just that. But before that all his day sleeps are fine. I just feel like I am doing everything wrong! I know I'm not, but I am one of these people who just want to fix the problem and be good at it! I hate not knowing what I am doing and there being no answers!!!!! I am not very good at going with the flow!

Okay stop ranting now....

[Fleur]

Jetta, could just be a developmental thing...I think there are a few of us with unsettled babies at the moment.
Great advice from Cate re feeding

Arlea has slept well the last two nights, ony up once for a feed & straight back down, and settling brilliantly through the day - in bed & off to sleep & I am left standing there like waiting for the problems to start...and there are none...would be lovely to think we are out the other side of it?
She had a bit of dinner with us tonight, pumpkin & broccoli, so we will see how she sleeps. Pieces, so she could feed herself - it was more about her being at the table with us tonight & playing with her foods, rather than eating a lot. The kids thought she was hilarious, the faces she was pulling!

Hope everyone gets a good night's sleep

[Miss E]

Jetta try not to worry too much, we are also having heaps of problems with night sleeps at the moment (funny, it always seems like Sam and Ash are doing the same thing at the same time LOL). I tend to think it is an age thing and also has to do with teething but it is so hard to tell. I know what you mean about feeling out of control, I also feel a bit that way at the moment.

Jasp glad to hear that Arlea has been a bit easier the last couple of nights, I'm hoping we get a good run soon too...

Cate I wouldn't worry too much about the solids, I've been a bit all over the place as well. Because we have the IL's here at the moment our routine is out the window. Some days he has had two meals, some only one and then others has only had a rusk or a cruskit. I figure that at this stage it is more an activity for him than a meal so am trying not to stress about it too much, but I am also keen to get back to a routine. Ideally I would like to be giving him breakfast (yoghurt which he loves and I am thinking of introducing some fruit as well) and then lunch (maily veggies and I have been trying a little bit of meat as well).

Sarah, Ash does the rocking thing as well. It is so cute. I saw the MCHN today and she was suprised, she said it is very early for them to be doing that and that he will probably be crawling within a matter of weeks...

Storm, sorry to hear about the headlice, hopefully it clears up quickly for you guys, must be awful.

AFM our sleeps have been terrible lately. Putting him down for the night has been a nightmare and we've started rocking him to sleep to avoid lots of trouble cos everyone is here. But it is beginning to work against us cos he keeps waking up every 40 minutes and needing to be rocked back to sleep. Then around 11 he will go to sleep properly but is waking at around 1am and then again at 4am or 5am. I find it hard to believe that he was sleeping through consistently only a few weeks ago. DH and I had a talk about it last night because I tend to think it is because his routine has been disrupted so much with the IL's here and we still have another 3 weeks of visitors. So we have agreed that Ash and I are just going to do our thing and we will try our best not to over stimulate him or drag him around to much. Hopefully we will be able to get back into a routine and the sleeps will improve...

Our amber teething necklace arrived this morning. I am so excited. He just went down for a nap so I have put it around his ankle. I'm hoping that it might help to improve his sleep as well, because he is definately teething at the moment. We can see the two top teeth and one of the eye teeth as well. Just hoping they come through quickly and we might get a break for a little while.

We went to the MCHN for his 6 month check up this morning. He's now just over 8kg and 66.5cm long, pretty much on the 50th percentile. I had a chat to her about our sleep issues and she agreed it probably has to do with the disruption to the routine and agreed that we are doing the right thing trying to get back on track. We go for his needles on Thursday which I am dreading. We are taking him to the GP this time, so I am hoping that it will be a bit better because last time at the council ones they were really rough with him. Also hope the teething settles a bit before hand, poor little mite is having a rough time of it at the moment.

Anyway, I better run, hope everyone is well and our little ones start sleeping a bit better!

[jetta2022]

Thanks so much Miss E, you are right about Ash and Sam although Ash seems like he is really advancing so well! He sounds like he is growing up and really doing well which is great, but I can't imagine how frustrating the night wakings are. You are right I shouldn't be stressing as I know it is a development thing and listening to how many times you are getting up in the night is making me realise it isn't so bad for me at all! You know how you just want to be the best mum possible and you know you can't be perfect but you just want to be!!!
Wow, so many visitors. Sam had us for 2 weeks and then when we went back to work he struggled the first day which my MIL and didn't sleep at all, but he seems to be doing okay now. Good luck with the needles, my doctor is away til 2nd Feb so we are going then and they say these ones are a bit worse! I hope Ash is okay and I hope that the necklace works as well.

Storm- I hope the head lice are better. I can't imagine how frustrating that would be. I had them as a kid and it is horrible washing your hair with that stuff.

Jasp - thanks for your comments and I am glad Arlea is sleeping better, so good to hear. it does make such a difference.

AFM, Sam did 3 projectile vomits the other day around 3 hours after eating some farex with pear and banana. I thought seeing as he has had pear and banana that it would be okay so not sure if that was it or not. Anyway, just gone back to plain farex in the morning and will try again in a few days. He was happy after vomiting so I don't think it was anything to worry about. Sam's two bottom teeth have come through without any major dramas although some of his disruption is that I am sure but nothing too bad. Hubby will be looking after Sam one day a week from next while I go back to the office, I am so happy that he will be spending the day with sam but hate being away from Sam so much!
Anyway, hope everyone else is doing well!

[Fleur]

Well, she slept better for three nights....

[ss_storm]

Lol Jasp. I think these babies must be conspiring....

Hayley has been sleeping through most nights, but, she won't go to sleep properly until 9pm...I do not want that to be our new bedtime! She used to go down at 6.30/7, sometimes 7.30, but now she will wake up an hour later and won't go back to sleep until 9. Hopefully it's just another of those little phases and will pass quickly...she has been sleeping until nearly 8 though.

Am trying to be a little more consistent with solids now that she is 6 months...I've been a bit slack the last week or so and she only had a feed every couple of days. How do you guys go about it, particularly if any of you formula feed...I've found that if I feed her solids before a bottle then she doesnt want any of her bottle, even if she only has a tiny bit of food...but if I give her a bottle first then she doesnt want solids at the end or in the middle. So I'm giving it to her kind of as a separate meal/instead of a bottle...I just don't know how else to do it because either way I end up wasting a whole bottle of formula!
I think she likes pumpkin...she had it for the first time yesterday with rice cereal and gobbled it up, so she seemed to like it a lot more than with pear or apple!

[leckert]

..I've found that if I feed her solids before a bottle then she doesnt want any of her bottle, even if she only has a tiny bit of food...but if I give her a bottle first then she doesnt want solids at the end or in the middle. So I'm giving it to her kind of as a separate meal/instead of a bottle...I just don't know how else to do it because either way I end up wasting a whole bottle of formula!

Storm,
While I don't FF my DS, I make sure there's at least 20 - 30 min between solids and milk - usually I go 20min or so after a milk feed but sometimes in the morning particularly I feed then milk feed within 20min (he needs to take some powered medicine which goes down better with the puree stuff - evenings we try BLS (baby led solids) while DH & I have tea)

[lovelycate]

miss E - I'm curious to hear how the teething necklace goes for you. Also curious about cruskits - it hadn't occurred to me to try them, but I would have thought they'd be a bit try and crumbly? Obviously it's not a problem though?

jetta - it's so hard being away from them isn't it? It's great that your DH will be able to spend some good time with Sam though.

jasp - oh, poo for you! Just when you would have thought she might have gotten back into the habit!

ss_storm - I don't think I've got any helpful answers unfortunately - atm I'm struggling to get Zac to even bother drinking his bottles most of the time! This is partly why the solids are so inconsistent, cos I try to give him some food no earlier than 30 minutes after a feed, but what with him just snacking on his bottles, and his sleeps being all over the place, sometimes it just doesn't work... I had heard that you should wait for 30 mins after a feed before solids - I guess that way they have a chance to digest the milk and be a bit interested in the food? Our MCHN keeps stressing that it's not about actually eating at the moment, but about learning new textures and tastes etc, so if any goes into the tummy it's a bonus :-)

[Miss E]

miss E - I'm curious to hear how the teething necklace goes for you. Also curious about cruskits - it hadn't occurred to me to try them, but I would have thought they'd be a bit try and crumbly? Obviously it's not a problem though?

Ash absolutely loves the cruskits, they don't crumble at all. He just sucks on them and they gradually dissolve away in his mouth. That's the great thing about them they kind of melt in your mouth iykwim?

[Fleur]

Arlea loves cruskits too
We have been a bit inconsistent with solids too here...trying to get in a routine but I want to work out what works, first IYKWIM?
She loves her solids, so much that I tend to hold off a bit...she has nev been a big milk drinker & I worry that she will take too many solids & drop her milk more. Her feeds are all over the place... I just give solids as an accessory to bottles if that makes sense? She eats when we do & I try to give her just enough so she still takes her bottle.

[sloane]

cate - cruskits are a big winner here too - thanks to jasp actually! they do seem to melt (or go soggy!) in their mouths. i often put mashed avocado on it & corey seems to love that. i think he likes the taste but also loves squishing it in his fingers

jasp - what a pain about the sleeps

miss e - good luck with the needles tomorrow. i hope you & ash doing your thing gets things back on track. i reckon the disruption to their routine really does throw them out.

ss_storm - i know it's a bit different because i'm BFing but with the solids i'm kind of following a bit of a routine. i'm still demand feeding but i'm trying to make the meals at consistent times each day - this is just as much to do with his day sleeps than the food - i'm trying to make his day a little more predictable. i BF him when he wakes up around 7 & then sometime around 7.45-8 i give him his solids. then he has a BF & a nap at 9. i usually give him another BF when he wakes up from his nap & then his lunch at 12. another BF & nap around 1 & then BF whenever during the afternoon & dinner at about 5.30 before his bath, BF & bed by 7. well, that's it in theory! the gap is around 45mins to an hour between a feed & solids but that's working for us. i eat breakfast & some lunch at the same time as him and then DP or i might have a snack with him while he has dinner, because we don't eat until after he goes to bed at the moment. sorry for the essay

[jetta2022]

SS Storm - I don't formula feed either but I have found that Sam loves 2 ice cubes of pumpkin mixed with some farex (about 4 teaspoons) and a bit of water, and he absolutely loves it. I do make it still pretty watery while he gets use to it. I have been giving him this around 20 minutes after breast feeding. I have started solids in the morning now (half a jar of pear) and then lunch time.

Miss E - I hadn't thought of yoghurt for breakfast - is it okay to give them? Obviously if you are giving to Ash it is but I didn't know that and it would be good as I think he would really like it. The cruskits are a good idea too!

Lovelycate - I hope you get some routine worked out soon, it is hard when they are all over the place. I have been doing the solids as quite watery still so it isn't too much for his stomach.

AFM - Sam has settled down and even going to sleep at 6pm now without topping up. He has his mobile and a little soft toy that he can chew on as his two bottom teeth have come through. I have brought his 10pm feed back now to 9pm and he is still sleeping through so in a few nights I will make it 8.45pm then 8.30pm and then try dumping it all together! I will miss it though as it is a such a long time that I won't see him!

Also quick question, how long are you bubs staying awake for now? Sam is sometimes only an 1 1/2 hours still and then arround 1 3/4 hrs... is that still normal?