Babies Born~May 16th-31st 2009 #4

Hi Girls,

Kat- congrats on Ivy rolling over!!!! Must be hard tho when she needs a constant eye. It is draining isn't it. I hope she tires herself out soon and sleeps a little better for you. I feel your pain! Jemima has only just settled from her growth spurt and it nearly killed me. She is equally frustrated like Ivy when she can't quite do what she wants atm.... talk about a little temper! But her delight when she does something new or sees something she likes is equally priceless!

Amy- Sorry to hear you have been crook honey! Hope you feel 100% soon. Glad to hear I could reassure you. I think it is a good idea if you are already going to have an appointment to get it checked anyway, cos it never hurts to ask. I just reckon it would be a waste of money for a one off visit iykwim.

BG- I read that thread you mentioned. sounds like you have all been great support to BR. good on you!



Well the baby welcoming ceremony went well. It was a bit strange going on my own, as DH was working he couldn't come. I did however meet a few friends there and sat with them and they took some pics for us. They had a petting zoo and Jemima and I went and held a duckling, a chick and a guinea pig! Very cute the girl in the zoo took photos for us.

Well Jemima has turned back into a marathon sleeper!! I don't know if it is the heat. It was 34 yesterday and 31 degrees today. she woke yest at 6.30 back to sleep by 7.30 till 9.30 asleep again by 1045 till 1345. a 1 1/2 hr arvo nap then slept 7.30-530 went back to sleep after a 15min feed and slept till 730! she then had another 2 hr nap this morn and a short arvo nap! I don't know myself i have had so much sleep! I think after putting on 500g in 11 days at the end of Sept that she has laid down her fat and is now going to grow or something.

She is so close to rolling ever too. I hope her dad doesn't miss it as he is going away tueday night and coming back on friday, for a course down in Sydney... gonna miss him:( Plus he is working so many days on either side he will efffectively not have a day off in 14 days:( Poor boy. He works VERY hard and I am proud of him but I wish I had more of him.

I have been invited to attend my sisters home birth. She is due on Tuesday and ussually delivers 3-4 days past her dates. I am very excited! It is her 4th baby, so I figure it will be a pretty quick kinda thing. Did I mention I was excited? Going to really enjoy sharing it with her. We have become closer since I moved to Townsville and other than a few hiccups in our communication when I gave birth we are getting closer still. I think it will be a lovely experience to bond over.

Bella

Amy - Wow, that's a lot of sleeping that Phoebe is doing! Hopefully she doesn't reward you with a wakeful night tonight! Sorry to hear that you got food poisoning. I bet you'll not feel like chinese food for a while...

Kat - What a little rolly-polly bubba you have there! So far Kyson is just doing the major side-lean when changing his nappy, but not actually rolling over. The 9 month old in my mother's group has shown us all how difficult chinge time can be with a rolling bub though! LOL!
I've noticed the huge change in Kyson that you seem to be seeing in Ivy too. He just has some much more intent. He sees something and knows that he wants it, and knows what he wants to do with it. I am finding that he is getting increasingly frustrated that he can't sit up yet. He tries to sit up more in his pram, the car seat and his swing. I generally have the pram upright now (unless he's asleep), but the poor bugger doesn't realise that he has to stay reclined for quite a while to come in the car.

Bella - You'll have to tell us all about the baby welcoming ceremony! Did she enjoy the tree planting? Our garden at home has really taken off lately with spring and Kyson and I have been spending quite a bit of time watering our vegie garden, checking our flowers, and more recently, staring in digust at the aphids on the roses. Jokes on them though, because we sprayed them yesterday and today the bushes look much less buggy :)

BG - How did you go meeting up with BR? I'm trying to organise having her dog desexed for her. Just waiting to hear back from my friend to find out if we can do it at my clinic. $$ isn't exactly free-flowing at my place, but I'm hoping that I can get her desexed cheap enough that I can pay for it myself. I thought we had a bunch of frozen meals that we could give her, but I didn't realise that DH had already given them to his cousin who currently has a baby in the SCU.

Naomi - How's your trip? And how are you going with the decision making about feeding? At the end of the day you have to do what feels right in your gut. And it has to be right for both you and Bailey. And if that means going to formula full-time, then so be it. Hopefully things have improved for you though so that BF is still an option, but don't beat yourself up about any decision you make :hug:
After all the humming and hahing, I think we are going to give Kyson his first shot at solids tomorrow. Since my post he's become much more interested in food. He tends to get fussy and cry any time he sees me eating, and tries to grab stuff from my hand. He's even trying to get at my drinks, lol. And while I eat he makes chewing motions with he mouth and tongue. We are just going to steam up some broccoli and put the floret on his highchair table and let him have a go at it. I figure that if he's not ready to eat yet, then he either won't be interested, or won't be able to eat it. So I guess we will see how we go. I think I'll set up the camera ;)

Vic - Sounds like the first leg of your travelling went well! Good little CJ! I hope you have a wonderful time and can't wait to hear about it and see photos on facebook.

Uh oh, small fry stirring so sorry to anyone who's persies I've missed! Just a quick update on us before he cracks it...

Well, the holiday is over; AF returned this morning. Almost 5 months to the exact day. I don't mind though. It gives me a chance to hopefully become regular and get my body ready when we decide to start trying for number two. When I told DH he said "Oh, we better stop having all that sex then", lol. Poor dear hasn't been getting much lately.

Oh, and Kyson rolled from back to front for the first time yesterday! He's been going front to back for ages, but had not quite managed the other way. Since he did it he's been trying to do it ever since, including change times, getting ready for bath/bed, etc. Lol, cheeky monkey.

Well, talk to you all soon. Much love!


EDIT: Just saw your post Bella. The ceremony sounds like it was fun! Can't wait to see the photos!

I can't wait to hear all about the home birth too. I can just imagine your excitement!

evenin all - can't believe the weekend is over already - sigh

has been a full on weekend for us, and i'm almost ready to crash. just wanted to pop in and say hello and to pop a couple of persies in (if i have the energy to remember!)

Amy - hoping you're feeling better hun - being crook sucks!

Bella - glad the ceremony was good for you - looking forward to seeing pics

KL - grr to AF being back in the house!! i have a feeling she's on her way back here which is driving me nuts - five weeks of spotting every week or so - i just want her to put in an appearance or fark off! lol you'd think PCOS that stopped me ovulating for months at a stretch, exclusively BF that she'd not show - but i dunno - she's trying! either that or i have a post c/s infection - but i don't think i do - i feel bruised when e stands on my tum, but nothing too painful or anything

made the trip to meet up with TD yesterday (she is on this side of Melb, so it was an easy drive) - ended up at Fountain Gate and went to the big garden shop there - bought some stuff for the vegie patch, some sunflower seeds (just cos i like them!) and a magnolia "little gem" to plant over E's placenta. it was nice to have a family day out - and was nicer knowing that we helped someone at the same time

AFU - don't know what has happened the past few days,, but E has all of a sudden decided that she doesnt need sleep during the day - isn't grouchy or anything, just wants to be awake and entertained. she's happier under her activity centre than she's ever been, she's loving being with DH - i think having him home is actually helping her HEAPS. loving it. at the moment, she's sitting on his knee yabbering away while they watch American Chopper.

well, must away. i need to go to bed at some point - i'm over being awake. feeling a bit run down - have got a cold sore and all the glands on that side of my face are swollen - and the ear is starting to be a little ouchie... sigh... shoot me!

hmmm DS still cant roll from back to front but he likes sitting up with help (pillows) and then he grabs his toes and falls over but loves it lol he gets right on his side to see the tv when he gets a nappy change but thats about it or in bed hes sleeping through the night and goes down at night without a fuss its so much fun around 8 or half 8 i put him to bed say goodnight then i dont hear a peep from him i dont even know how he managed that i thought they dont self soothe till 6 months?

Amy - bugger re the food poisoning, hope you are feeling better now. Wow re Phoebes big sleeps, maybe she is doing some serious growing and it tuckered out?

Kat - congrats on the rolling for Ivy, how exciting, My GF bub used to literally roll from one end of their house to the other and she was forever following him in his travels heheehehe. Hope Ivy works through her frustrations soon. Bailey isn't rolling yet but loves to push his bum up with his feet when on the floor, bath, car seat, pram etc - its like he is trying to get his body to sit or move up, and he gets a bit annoyed sometimes too

BG/Bella - I agree; I dont think Bailey gets his nutrients from formula instead of BM, its purely the volume (or lack of) that he is taking thats my concern. He's kinda taken the decision out of my hands to a certain degree as this weekend is just not drinking from the boob for longer than a few seconds so has had bottles pretty much the entire time. (Obviously me using the bottle affects this, its a catch 22) I have noticed a significant difference in how wet his nappys are which indicates to me that he is now drinking an adequate amount. So what I plan to do is go with bottles, but try to express as much as possible to try to keep my supply going and get even a couple of bottles of BM into him, any BM he drinks is better than nothing IMO so hopefully my milk production allows this - thanks guys for the input and advice, its really appreciated and helpful. I guess the whole point of us starting solids was to ensure he was getting enough food to ramp up his growth, so if we then have an issue with milk intake we are back to square one again IYKWIM. So I’m comfortable to bottle feed and express as much BM as possible. I’m gonna keep chucking him on the boob once we get home for sleepy feeds (if he’ll let me). But I’m not prepared to do it if it upsets him, its just not worth it. Why stubbornly breastfeed if its making us both unhappy every 3 hours?

Bella – awesome baby welcoming ceremony, the pics are great! We are combining Baileys first birthday with his naming day next April so I cant wait J I can understand how excited you are to go to your sisters birth, I would love to have the priviledge of witnessing a birth (other than my own deliveries LOL), maybe someday.....

BG – awesome re helping out BR – very generous of you, I am going to send a coles or woollies voucher over, I don’t know her but her story sucks and feel inspired to help in some small way

Krystie – let us know how Kyson goes with the solids, how exciting! I am giving Bailey breakfast, lunch and dinner (very little amounts) but he is still loving it, its going so well. Bugger re AF, she returned for me way too soon (at 7 weeks)

Jacinta – we drove through St Arnoud on our way over Friday night (about 1130pm) but are currently on the road home and are going home via Swan Hill, Ouyen, Pinaroo etc. How cute that Jamie is sitting up assisted, it wont be long until he does it all by himself

Well I am currently listening to Bailey chatter away in the back seat – he never shuts up anymore and its so cute, sounds like he is say “Wow, Wowee, Oooooooh, Wow” LOL, too cute. He started doing this hilarious laugh on the weekend where he must vibrate his tongue a bit (god knows how) as he laughs heartily and then it ends with this little vibrating laugh – I must try to catch a little video to post

Bridg, Nicky – sorry we didn’t get a chance to catch up, we were busy with the family all sat and sun and have left Shepparton about 3am this morning so got a good 3 hours sleep out of the little guy at the start of the journey which was good, we are just taking it easy and will stop and let the little guys stretch and play when needed.

Had a great weekend, got lots of great ideas from my bro and sister in law (they are parents that I highly respect) and they are supportive and LOVE Bailey to bits. My nieces (11yo and 8yo) are in love with him as well and he clearly loves them as they played all weekend and are so gentle. I even let Emily (11yo) give a bottle and she was so delighted and proud to do it.

Better go, I have no connection currently, need to be closer to a town I think, so I will post this asap

Take care
Naomi
x

173 kms to go ..................

DOH I need a car charge for the laptop - that reminds me, Nicky I ran out of battery when I was chatting to you the other night - sorry

Bella: Love your pics from the Baby welcoming. How exciting @ being invited to your sister's birth! That'll be awesome!
Krystie: LOL, just the very thought of pork in plum sauce is enough to make me gag atm :sick: Even rice isn't remotely tempting. GL with the solids! I know people who've started on BLS before bubs was 6mo - just like you're doing. Putting something in front of him and inviting him to eat sounds like the perfect way to do things to me. Let us know how he goes. Bummer about AF, but LOL @ your DH's comment... We have a similar situation here.
BG: Sounds like you've been busy in the garden. I love magnolias. What colour is the little gem? Sorry about the cold sore etc. Get some serious sleep into you, chick.
Jacinta: I think the self-settle thing is pretty individual. I know people who's babies will self settle from day 1 unless they are sick or having an off day, and others who's babies won't self settle til they're three. Phoebe sometimes does and sometimes doesn't. Its great that Jamie does it already though. It kind of makes me sad when P does it (don't get me wrong, it is VERY convenient!) but you know, it's like its too grown up for a little baby, KWIM?
Naomi: Glad you had a great weekend away. Wow @ leaving at 3am though! There's an early start. How special for your nieces to spend that time with Bailey. I love when my girls get to see their cousins. They get along famously. I think I am a real family girl at heart though, so that sort of thing rings my bell ;)
Yeah, Phoebe had that massive sleepy day but she sure made up for it yesterday. Phew. She had a mini-nap in church and then refused to sleep for the rest of the day unless she was being cuddled! She hasn't been velcro-baby for aaaaages, and it was a bit of a shock really. But I sort of enjoyed it ;) Today she is back to herself pretty much, I think. Napping now in her cot, will probably wake after the 40 minute mark which is coming up.
We are having lunch with my folks today. I think I'm going to splurge and buy Natty a new colouring book and some stickers or something. She has been housebound for two days (literally has not set foot outside) and she's been very well-behaved. She was adorable when I was feeling sick. She crept into my room when DH was looking after Phoebe and sat on the bed next to me wanting to play. When I didn't really respond (the cramping was AWFUL) she stopped and put her face up to mine and said, "OK, Mummy?" and I said, "Sorry Natty, mummy has a sore tummy" and she said, "Awww. That's no good." And went to her room, got her wrap and her toy ****atoo and brought them to me, said, "here's ****y and a wrap to make you feel better". :o I couldn't believe how clearly she spoke and how sweet it was of her! I was so proud I could've cried. She's growing up.
This morning Natty was holding Phoebe on her lap and I reckon P might have had a growth spurt. She looks really big! If she keeps growing at this rate she's going to be 6 foot by the time she's 2, LOL!
Oh, and happy NRL GF to you Melbournites, LOL.

Awwww how sweet is Natty, I reckon her cuteness would make me feel better!!

Tee hee. Yeah, thanks Naomi - it did make me feel better :)

Natty sounds very cute Amy!

have had a shocking headache today - ended up taking E to bed when DH didn't come home at normal time. i just couldn't cope with being upright any more. she was so sweet. had a big feed, then we lay face to face and she rubbed my face - kinda like she was exploring it. she does the same to DH with his beard - was really sweet. then we both had a big nap. i still feel like crud, waiting for panadol to kick in some more - but not quite as bad as earlier. need to visit mr chiro man i think!

nice ticker BG

thanks Naomi!

i still have a thing for stars - her birth announcement cards said "we reached for the stars and got an armful of heaven" - i love it!

:

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"we reached for the stars and got an armful of heaven" - i love it!

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Thats beautiful - imagine how loved she will feel when she reflects back on that when she's older :)

And you've got the lovely feature wall in her bedroom too :) That's cool.
Sorry about your headache. That sucks.

Oh, I just remembered that someone asked some questions about the swimming pool. With regards to cameras; the pool we usually go to has a strict "no cameras" rule and apparently they enforce it pretty well. We didn't even try to take piccies there, which was a bit upsetting because I would have really liked to have taken photos of his very first swim. On father's day we went to the new swimming pool in cranbourne (my parents live in cranny), and they probably have the same rule, but we took photos anyway. We didn't see any signs and figured that if anyone said anything that we would just play the ignorance card ;)

So far I have only gone swimming when DH has been there too, so getting in and out hasn't been difficult. DH generally just holds Kyson after I have finished changing him after the swim though so that I can get changed. To get into the pool I use the ramp down into the hydro-pool. Then when we get out I hold Kyson close to my chest and stay as low as I can on the ramp (so that he stays in the water as long as possible), then I stand up and walk as fast as I can to get his towel. I wrap his towel around the outside of his body so that his tummy/chest is still against me. That way his whole body is warm, and his little body keeps me a little warm. The rest of me just gets cold though, lol. Lucky the pools are generally pretty warm inside anyway. I use the family change room and get Kyson dry and dressed while I drip. With DH there, he then holds Kyson, but when I go by myself I figure I would take the pram and be able to put him in the pram while I get dressed. So far he's never cried when I've taken him out of the pool. But I'm sure he would screech if he got too cold!

Sooooo, I let Kyson try solids today! I think he did pretty well for a first timer. I steamed him up some broccoli florets and just popped them on his high chair table. He's pretty tiny in the chair, so I had to help him grab the broccoli, but after he had it in his hand he knew exactly where to put it. Between dropping them, squishing them, and sucking his own fingers, he managed to get a few chunks in his mouth. Whether he actually swallowed much is up for debate, lol! I had a bit of a panic when he started choking and gagging a couple of times, but he recovered fine and seemed to enjoy the experience. No allergic reactions, so tomorrow we are going to give him some more, but at dinner time so Daddy can watch too :) Oh, I recorded some of it too, so I'll have to upload it to facebook soon. I also took some photos of his broccoli covered face hehehe.

Quick post from me - jet lag is starting to get me. Flight was fine, CJ really good, was a bit like the first days home from hospital, feed sleep feed sleep with only a bit of entertaining on the second leg (which would have been Melbourne morning). Looking at how she was compared to other infants on flight I reckon if you want to do long haul do before are about 8 months. She slept all the drive back to my parents as well (about 3 and a half hours). Put her down to bed at about 8:30 pm and she slept till about 1:00 when I woke up couldn't get back to sleep and could hear her stirring so I got up and fed her (mistake she wasn't really awake enough I should have waited till she woke me) so then she woke up 2:30 and wanted another feed, went back down fine after and then woke up for morning at 5:30am. So not too bad considering the time difference and I reckon she will have it sorted by tomorrow with prob just one wake up tonight. I haven't done so much feeding in ages though my boobs feel so flat - some of it might be the 4 month growth spurt week 17 wonder week too though I think as she was already feeding more on Sat before we left. Today she has wanted a feed every hour and a half so far and was difficult to get her to go down for lunchtime nap, which is unusual for her as the thumb normally does the trick. Hopefully she will get a decent length of nap but if she goes too long e.g. over 2.5 hours, I think will break the golden rule of never wake a sleeping baby - I think when jet lag comes into it need to make sure she doesn't think this is her night time as it would be in Melbourne.

Thanks for the info on swimming Krystie and cameras etc, we are going on Wed so will see what rules are.

Hey Girls!

How you all going? Krystie! How exciting that Kyson had his first taste of solids!! I think it's cute that you let him pick it up himself. Awesome!!

I will probably be boring and just give Cara what I gave all the other 3 when they started solids..farex rice cereal hehe. Mmmm yum! Even my older kids like the taste of it hehe.

Cara is becoming a real little character. She is a happy little squealer at the moment and just noticing EVERYTHING around her! She's so big for her age and it wont' be long til the size 0s are replaced with size 1s I am sure hehe. Laura was just the same.

Last week I had some portrait place photos done and from the previews, they look gorgeous! I will pick them up in a about 10 days.

I get her immunised tomorrow! :( Not looking forward to that. She was sooky last time.

BG: Hope your headache is gone. That sux. I have had times where I was sick and just laid on the bed with the baby all day. No fun. Least at this cute age they are happy to just lay there, not crawling about yet hehe

I am not getting a lot of sleep lately. Cara is waking up 2 or 3 times (or more) a night. I'm buggered in the morning. She is teething for sure!!

Take care girls!! Check out my video of Cara on facebook. So cute!