Babies born~September 1st-15th 2009 #1

Hi Girls

Wow it's quiet in here! Except for you Art, keeping our thread on the front page. Good work :clap:

Art - more cute pics on FB of your rug rats! They are so adorable. Love that pic of A in the bath with all the bubbles. Too cute for words! I admire you for taking the kids camping - nice one! Sounds lik it was an interesting trip. LOL. We love a bit of camping but not sure that I'll try to tackle it for a while again yet. We were considering it over the Christmas / New Year break but we might get a cabin (with aircon!) instead.

Pooley - Frazer is doing so well! How is he sleeping? Sounds like a dream child! Congrats on the weight loss too. Didn't you feel great at the end of the detox? I definitely did. So weird though consuming only a lemon and syrupy drink for 10 days can do that.

I've got a shrink who I could see again if I need to from when I went through my depression a couple of years ago but I don't feel the need for him to be honest. I'm very open about my feelings these days (my shrink taught me that) and have talked to family, friends and my mothers group about things and feel pretty stable now. Thank god! I still get a bit anxious but I think that's just my personality - being a perfectionist doesn't work that well when you become a mum. :rolleyes: I'm learning that, slowly

Kelly - how is Tadhg doing now? Any more unsettled days? We have many days like that - see below. Has the Motillium kicked in yet? You will definitely notice a difference soon. What sort of pump are you using? I was using a hospital grade double pump I hired from the pharmacy. I've taken it back now and have an Avent manual pump which works quite well but I'm considering getting the Medela Swing electric pump as it is faster.

Hi everyone else!

AFU - my inlaws are staying with us at the moment. My MIL means well but is doing my head in! They leave on Sunday so that will be nice. They've only been here for a week but that's been long enough. I'm so sick of the 'advice' my MIL keeps giving me - such as 'put some honey on her dummy'...WTF?! She then challenges me when I tell her that it's not a good idea. Like I said, I'm sure she means well but I just can't handle it any more. She's stressing me out and annoying the hell out of me. For example, she has been talking to me non-stop for the past hour although she knew firstly that I was watching the end of my fave show, Private Practice, and after that I was typing on my lappy. You can see that I'm busy for the moment so please dear MIL, shut up!! Sorry, rant over.

Izzy had her shots last week and screamed her little lungs out which made me cry :( What a big wuss I am!! She calmed down after about 10 minutes and then just clung to me for dear life. It was so sad but so cute too. She slept so well for the next 24 hours so it wasn't all bad ;) We chatted to our gp about reflux and she didn't want to medicate her until we had done our day stay at Ngala (parenting support centre) to make sure it wasn't just settling issues. Anyway, Izzy was still really upset over the weekend so I took her back to the doctors on Monday and she agreed to try the medication. Woohoo. She is now on a daily dose of Zoton which is basically an antacid. It seems to be helping a bit already and she has slept for 9 hours straight the past two nights! That may just be a coincidence but she definitely doesn't seem to be in as much pain.

So we've had two nights of 9 hour stretches which is fantastic but it means that my day starts at 4.30am. Bugger! I did go to bed at 7.30 last night though so I managed to get almost 9 hours too so I don't mind too much starting the day so early. I guess I'll just have to do that for a while until we can extend her sleep out a little longer. She is asleep again now but in the sling as she still won't settle in her bassinet during the day so I can't go back to bed. Oh well, at least I have my hands free and hopefully we'll learn a few tricks at our stay at Ngala on Monday to help her settle in her bed during the day.

Izzy also saw the chiro yesterday to see if that can help with her reflux and unsettled periods. Her neck is pretty buggered from the vacuum delivery so they said it will make a huge difference to her sleep once it's fixed, which should only take a few sessions. Wish I'd been to see them sooner!! :doh:

Right, enough from me. I'll have to wake missy soon for a feed as I have a physio appt this morning. I have done my neck/shoulders from breastfeeding. Who would have thought?! It's from looking down at Izzy and surfing the net on my iPhone. Tragic.

Hi girls - way too quiet in here!
Taurean - we are doing great now. I took 1 Motilium 3 times per day for the first couple of days, and then thought - what harm can it do to take 2 (the Dr said to me they can prescribe up to 2 pills 4 times per day - so i knew it was ok). and yay! we have milk! Yesterday was our first no bottle day, and it was so good. I was suprised how happy and proud it made me - so much easier than mixed feeding. I don't have much clue how much milk i'm making now, will have to express at some point soon and find out, but obviously just enough :)
So more milk combined with no dairy for me has made one happy little baby! I'm guessing he was sucking a lot of air before, and the dairy was upsetting him because he is a lot less windy now too. I'm really pleased to be getting on top of the milk situation and getting some sleep before we go through the 3 month growth spurt which must be looming.

We had coffee group yesterday and one of the girls uses white noise for her daughter to sleep - she said even friends babies staying at their place sleep better with it. Could be worth a try for Izzy? Just put your stereo on an off-station to get static going and have it reasonably loud.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist too - it doesn't quite compute when you don't know how to do every small thing, and no-one can even tell you how to fix a lot of situations. I was really overwhelmed the first few weeks especially, next time will be much easier dont you think ;-)

I'm using a pigeon manual pump now, they are quite well regarded in magazines etc and it seems to work ok - or it did when i first got it, which was before the mastitis. Before that i had an electronic avent (borrowed) which was good, but expensive.

I have a sore back too :( I'm thinking about physio, but now need to go to the chiropractor anyway - so I'm going to turn up tomorrow with my list of ailments! 1. Sore back from feeding and carrying the capsule, 2. Tight right hip presumably from giving birth and 3. sore neck from falling down the stairs... :( Man that was horrible - on Sunday I was walking down stairs with Tadhg and the washing basket and slipped on the second half (slippery socks on carpet not such a good idea when you can't see your feet) i fell backwards (thank god not forwards) and crashed down. Tadhg screamed and i felt so ill, i wasn't sure if i had hit his head on the stairs or what. DH was at the bottom of the stairs and took T off me. I wasn't sure what to do, but figured feeding him would calm him down, it took him a minute to quieten enough to latch on, poor wee thing - and even then was crying as he fed. I was trying to shh him and relax myself - no doubt he kept crying because i was so stressed too. Turns out he was fine and has no marks, so i think it was just the sudden fall and bumps combined with me squeezing him tight that freaked him out. No more carrying anything else but bub on the stairs! I have a big bruise on my arm and a sore back and neck - chiro, here i come.

Pooley - awesome work on Frazers growth, again - he is doing so well, and such a cutie :) and go you with the dieting, hope you are feeling well and cleansed now :D

Art - you deserve a prize for camping with a baby and a toddler! Well done :) Bring on Christmas holidays and sunshine.

I'm here! Been a bit of a crazy week here. Ethan has reflux too and bf him has become a nightmare. He starts off feeding ok but then after a few minutes he is screaming with pain the poor boy. So I've been expressing and feeding him EBM from a bottle so that he can be upright. Having a reflux baby and a toddler is NOT FUN LOL! I've stopped eating dairy as I heard that can help and we are taking him to visit the paed tomorrow. To top it all off he seems to have a bit of a snotty nose so I'm going to hold off on his vaccs until it has cleared up.

Art - well done on camping with a tot and a baby!

Taurean - wow on the 9 hour sleeps, that is fantastic. Glad that your IL's are leaving soon hun, I can't imagine living with mine lol! Honey on a dummy, is she insane!!!! My MIL suggested I start E on solids to stop his reflux! Can you imagine feeding a 9 week old solids lol? She means well so I shouldn't complain :shakehead:

Kelly - ouch on the fall, that must have been scary. I hope the chiro can fix your list of ailments lol! I have a sore back/neck too which I think is from bf. Well done on the milk supply, that is fantastic!

Pooley - Your boy is doing so well, isn't it amazing how fast they grow? Think I might need to look into this detox, 3.8kg is awesome. Did you feel ok only having lemon drink for that long? I reckon I'd be starving!

Taurean, Il's are there to drive you batty lol Mine are pretty good, the only problem we have had was that DS didn't really like to be held by other people and they would keep holding him even when he was screaming and reaching for me. MIL would even turn around and walk the other way with him when she saw I was coming to get him. It ended in a big blow up because I won't leave my babies upset and crying for anyone but they though we weren't letting them be grandparents. I forgot that Izzy was a vacuum delivery, it seems that a lot of vacuum bubs need a trip to physio/chiro.

Sangie, feeding bubs solids was how it was done back in the day. Apparently my brother seemed hungry after a BF, so he was switched to formula and fed weet-bix so he would sleep at night! There are home vids of my DH having his first solids, he is tiny and still being held in the cradle hold ie not even holding his head up properly yet! I am very grateful that Amelia is such a low needs baby- I still struggle to give DS the time he deserves, I don't know how I would manage it with a high maintenance baby.

Kelly, the fall must have been scary! I am worried about walking on our deck with A, it gets really slippery in the rain and I have slipped on it a couple of times - once when I was pregnant. Yay for getting your milk suppy up, that must be a good feeling.

I have a sore back too, from the way I slouch terribly while BF lol. And from carting her around all day since she doesn't really like to sleep down anywhere during the day.

I am here too.....with a baby in a rocker beside me and a DH asleep on the other couch and me.....doing the housework!

Taurean - I am with you with the MIL - mine is all for the "helpful" comments....she also suggested honey on the dummy or vegemite! And they wonder why I won't leave my baby with them for 5 minutes! She came over the other day and it was the mostpainful few hours...felt like i had to justify every part of my mothering technique. I am so thankful my own mum has never told me what to do. I have known quite a few bubs who ended up seeing an osteopath for a crook neck after a vacuum....bubs wouldn't attach to one boob - turns out their necks were out - afterwards fed like champions!

AFU - V has a cold, just gets really snotty overnight and has problems breathing. I am glad she sleeps next to me so i can hear and see what she is doing. Nothing else really new....has to go to the paed tomorrow for a blood test as he can't tell if she has asian colouring or is still jaundiced! (she is only 1/8 chinese).

She is screaming x

Sanchez, have you got the blood test results yet?

Taurean, good luck at sleep school, hope you learn a few helpful tips.

Happy Birthday to Janine and Kelly

Not much happening here. A has slept through for the past 3 nights, from 8-9pm until 5-6am so I am really pleased with that. Hope it continues.

She has been rolling tummy to back since 3.5 weeks, can balance sitting for 5-10 seconds and now she has started rolling from her back to her side and seems rather determined to get all the way over. DS was an earlybird for most things, but not this early! She isn't interested in staying my little baby :cry:

Sangie- I have managed to keep off 3 kgs and to tell you the truth, once I started eating again, I really missed the lemon syrup drink. It was always there when I felt hungry and it actually filled me up, in the end I never felt hungry. Much harder now to figure out what to have for lunch and make sure it's healthy etc. Too much thinking and the detox was also saved time on meal prep etc. Cause we didn't eat anything we had a lot of time up our sleeves!

Artechim- My god, rolling already!! You've got a smarty on your hands. I'm hoping Frazer doesn't roll just yet. I'm not quite ready to have to be alert everytime I put him down somewhere!

AFM- I am ecstatic to report that Frazer has slept through the last 5 nights!! He is ususally down around 7.30, dream feed at 10/11 and then will go through til at least 6am. The only bad thing is, I actually feel worse sleeping through than when I have to wake up for a nite feed! I don't know what's wrong with me. Today I even woke up with a splitting headache which never happens. Also been having really weird dreams. The other night I dreamt Frazer and I were in a head on collision (both injured but not badly or anything) and I got out and absolutely went ape at the driver of the other car.

I'm hoping it's also a coincidence that he started sleeping through the night I put him in his new sleeping bag but now I'm convinced that's what helping him get through the nite and refuse to let him go to sleep with out it! I just don't want to risk not putting it on him for one night and seeing if he wakes up. Especially since he's a tummy sleeper, he seems to crawl outta the blankets in the night. That's why we put him in the bag to start with...

P.S Am still utterly and completely confused about which contraceptive to use..... it's really driving DH up the wall and me as well. I just want to make a decision already and hope it's the right thing for my body.

Hi Girls

Where is everyone?! Busy with this mothering caper no doubt!

We are plodding along but still struggling with Izzy's day sleeps. Ngala (parenting help centre) was really good but Izzy still 'won' - LOL. She did sleep for 1.5 hours in the morning there in a cot for the first time so that was impressive but she wouldn't settle again in the afternoon. The midwife looking after us was convinced it's silent reflux too. I was completely deflated that all our problems weren't solved but I was also glad that one of the professionals got to witness what we go through on a daily basis and state that it's reflux. It made me feel a bit more sane. So we are off to see the pediatrician tomorrow and see what he has to say. She is on Zoton for reflux but I don't think it's made much of a difference. My LC said the dosage sounds too small and thinks the pediatrician will increase it significantly. Anything is worth a shot.

We did learn a lot about settling from our day stay and my confidence got a much needed boost so I did actually manage to get Izzy to sleep in the bassinet 4 times during the day in the past two days. The longest she slept was an hour though and she was still a bit unsettled. She has slept beautifully in the sling both days though. I don't mind her sleeping in the sling but although I have two hands free, I can't get that much done and I'd just like some time during the day when I don't have another body attached to me, IYKWIM.

Izzy is a happy little girl though (especially when she's had a good sleep!) and smiles a lot. It's adorable. She is sleeping so well at night and we have been blessed with 4 all-nighters in the past week and a half. She slept from 7pm til 4.30am each time. It was bliss!! If she doesn't sleep all night, she's up around 1am for a quick feed then again around 5 so we are doing really well with the overnight sleeps.

Speaking of sleep, Izzy is in her cot for the first time tonight and has been asleep for 2 hours now! She's in a Grobag and looks so tiny! We've got our Angel Care Sound & Movement Monitor set up so I reckon I'll actually sleep really well tonight as I didn't have it setup in the bassinet so I was constanly jumping up throughout the night to check on her. It was driving me nuts! I hope she has a good night in the cot and doesn't freak out too much when she wakes for her feed. Shall be interesting!

I'd better get to bed. I hope you're all fabulous and getting some decent sleep!

Wow girls.... How come all your bubbas are sleeping through the night?? Ava wakes up once during the night. A couple of times if it is hot and she has managed to wriggle her way out of the muslin wrap. But she is a good day sleeper. I usually have her up for an hour and a half after a feed then she is tired enough to sleep for a few hours.

My problem is that I don't have a nap often when she is sleeping, so I'm ususally really tired!

We had a weigh in last week as well as our immunisations. Ava is now 58cm long! and is 11 pound 3 or 5080grams. She has also started sucking her fist and thumb. She usually starts that right next to my ear when I'm trying to burp her on my shoulder!

Kosi- My god, Frazer is 2 kgs heavier than Ava. Had him weighed today and he was 7.12kgs!! My arms are getting sore when nursing him that's for sure. Even DH struggles after a while.

I think you will find she just won't wake up in the night suddenly. Frazer only used to wake once so Ava is definitely on her way. It was nothing I was doing that made him sleep through. Whether he had 180mls or 60 mls at a dream feed it didn't make a difference to whether he slept through or not. Sometimes he down 180mls and then still would wake up 3 hrs later!!!

I am also thinking of dropping his dream feed and making his last feed about 8pm if possible. I reckon he could make it as he is barely doing 60mls at his last feed as it is. It just seemed to be the less I cared about having to wake up for a night/ early morning feed, he suddenly didn't want one anymore anyway. Weird. Good luck, I'm sure she is not far off doing some all nighters for you.

Hiya,
Kosi - great that Ava is a good day sleeper, i hope it lasts for you! They change so quickly. Once a night is still a good effort and it wont be long till she lasts through. Once she has done a couple of random all nighters i'd recommend trying to leave her a couple of minutes (if she's not crying full on) or resettle with a dummy/cuddles etc in the dark. I found Tadhg was still tired and just woke with a bit of wind or something so it worked for me. Isn't it cute when they suck their thumb! Tadhg is only just finding his at the moment, but its so cute watching him try!

Pooley - i would definitely try dropping Frazer's dream feed, especiallly if he's not that hungry - he'd probably rather be sleeping! It's so nice to have the evenings to yourselves - even if its a bit tricky to go out!

Taurean - its so great to hear Izzy is sleeping well, even in the big cot! It would be reassuring, although still sad to confirm reflux - but once you know for sure its so much easier to treat. I was reading this week about allergy tests on baby's hair - you send their hair to a natropath and they let you know what foods bub is sensitive to, so you can reduce those in your diet. I'm wondering about trying it, i'm not sure if reflux is food related or just an ineffective tummy valve though.

Art - thanks for the happy birthday wishes! I had a great day, and was so pleased Tadhg slept in his capsule while we were out to dinner, then went stright down to bed when we got home, barely waking for the transfer to his bassinet. A sounds like she is doing really well! Amazing how physical she is too - i wonder if you're going to have an(other) active little toddler running around before too long!

Sangie - how is poor little Ethan? That reflux is sounding nasty. Did stopping your dairy consumption help? It's such a guessing game isn't it.

AFU - Tadhg is doing really well. We are still struggling to get past 40 minute day sleeps - and those are the good ones, but persisting with the resettling as much as possible. Unfortunately i think i'm growing a dummy addict now though. I need to try and wean him off it for sleeping i think. Night sleeps are still fantastic, has a feed about 6 / 6:30 and then down for the night at 7:30, i get him up at 6:30 - the last 2 mornings he hasn't even cried out to get up.
We seem to be under control with feeding - yay!! I'm feeling so much better about it now, and we have a much happier baby now he's not having formula, which was upsetting his tummy. I'm still off milk and he seems to be much better, with the occasional windy day - i have yet to determine the culprit but sure its diet related.
Tadhg is loving playing with his activity centre and toys on the bouncer, reaching out and grabbing them - its so fun to watch the developmental changes isnt it? :)
Plunket weigh in this week - still not 5kg! He's 3 months old on Monday, and 4.89kg, 56cm long. Still fitting huggies newborn - soon he's going to take off i know it! ;-)

Kelly

Kelly- Tadhg is still in newborn nappies?? Holy, that seems like another whole lifetime ago for us. Frazer lasted 3 weeks in newborn, then he went to infant for another 3 and now the crawler nappies. I bought a bulk pack of Baby love crawlers as they were on special after using the Aldi nappies but find the Baby love are a much smaller fit. The Aldi ones fit better and he doesn't leak overnight in them like he does in the others. Aldi nappies are the bomb!! And cheap as chups. (Sorry, couldn't help myself)

I am definately contemplating dropping his dream feed. Last nite I had a late one and didn't plan to go to sleep til about 12.30. Gave him a later dream feed at 11ish, he only had 50mls and because it was later I thought he might sleep longer but he still woke up the same time anyway. So 8 days in a row of sleeping through, I think he's got the hang of it!! I will try skipping it tonight and see if he still lasts through. As long as he has all of his bottle at his last feed I think it'll be all good.

I've had no net for a whole week as our stoopid computer packed it in. I really missed it lol! Glad to be back :)

Pooley - I love Aldi nappies too. We use aldi crawlers, they are so good for the price! Good luck dropping the dream feed. I haven't made any decisions on contraception either.......like you I need someone to decide for me lol! I was considering mirena but then knowing my luck I'll probably get every side effect known. Arrgghhhh its all too hard lol!

Kelly - Ethan's reflux is still bothering him. Some days he is fine but others he is terrible and bf him becomes such an ordeal. I don't think that dropping the dairy has helped much at all. I'm so glad that the feeding has improved for you! My maternal nurse said that common culprits for wind are chocolate, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, bananas. Not sure how true it is but if you have a lot of any of those foods then maybe try cutting back???

Art - wow on the rolling! I'm so not ready for E to be mobile yet!

Kosi - awww I love the hand sucking, its so cute!

Taurean - woo hoo on the all nighters! We haven't put Ethan in his cot overnight yet but I'm going to have to bite the bullet and give it a go. He's getting too long for the bassinette. How is Izzy's reflux?

Ethan is doing really well (apart from the reflux). He is so much more alert now and smiles and 'talks' non-stop! I think he's going to be a chatterbox like his sister! He loves his playgym and bouncer and is fascinated by the dog. His day sleeps are a bit hit and miss. Some days he is great and others he barely sleeps or just has cat naps. But he is so good at night so I shouldn't complain. He is usually asleep by 9pm and we don't hear from him until between 5-6am. I can't believe how well he sleeps at night and I'm hoping its not just a phase as my DD didn't sleep this long until well over 6 months of age..

Anyway that's enough babble from me, think I might go get some shut eye. Hope you are all well and having a great weekend xoxo

Woot! Another all nighter! 7pm til 5am in her cot! My boobs were a bit engorged but not as bad as I expected. My damn shoulders and upper back are still aching throughout the night so that's driving me mad. Oh well, I can't have everything!!

Pooley/Kelly - Izzy is still in newborn nappies too! She's wearing infants at night now though but only started 2 nights ago. She weighs 4.7kg now but is still a little poppet!

Sangie - Izzy's now on losec for suspected silent reflux. We hope it helps. She has a follow up appt with the paed on Friday. If there hasn't been a significant improvement the we will be putting me on a strict no dairy diet as it's likely she has an allerg to cows milk protein (in my diet). I've decided if that's the case I'll try the diet for a month max then bottlefeed. I'm over all the added stresses! I hope Ethans reflux improves!

We are starting mother and baby hydrotherapy classes tomorrow with a couple of the girls from my mothers group. Can't wait! I bought Izzy some propped swimming pants, OSFA a bit like MCN. They are pink and white with hibscuses all over them - so adorable!!

Bought a Hushamok hammock on thursday to help with Izzy's day sleeps and it looks like it's going to be a winner. She slept for 3 hours straight in it yesterday morning! Yay!

I'd better run. Am typing this on my phone while I feed Izzy which is only making my upper back worse. Must get back to the Physio but gee it's hard with a baby!

UPDATE - Izzy just slept for two hours straight in her hammock!!! Best purchase! Yay!!!

Kosi, don't worry that Ava isn't sleeping through yet - just because some of us have all nighters doesn't mean it is going to stay that way. There is the 3 month growth spurt coming that will shake things up too.

Taurean, I hope that the losec works for Izzy - it would be such a shame if you have to give up BF after you worked so hard to get it established.

Pooley, how did F go without the dream feed? Sounds like he is doing really well.

Kelly, at least you are getting good wear out of the cute little bubba clothes lol. Amelia has outgrown all her 000 bodysuits with sleeves while the sleeve-less ones haven't even been worn because it has been too cold. I tried to buy the next size up the other day but they aren't selling them now because it is 'summer'. DS walked at 8.5 months, I suspect that A will be similar.

Sangie, day sleeps aren't that great here - we are working on having them in the cot but she really prefers to be held/sling. But I really don't care how she sleeps during the day, as long as we have good nights then it is fine by me.

Not much happening here. For the last 9 nights A has mostly been doing 7-9 hours overnight which I am so happy with. It doesn't take long to get into a habit of expecting a good sleep though - one night she woke at 3.30am for a feed and I was shattered the next day lol

Artechim- We dropped Frazer's dream feed last nite and the nite before. Both nites his last feed was between 8 - 9pm. Success!! First nite he did 9 till 7am and last nite 9 till 6am. Woo hoo!! So far so good. I guess he is getting enough food during the day.

Hoping the 12 week growth spurt doesn't disrupt his sleeping patterns too much but you never know!!!

hi girls, sorry i havent been posting, have been reading though.
Wow on all the bubba's having big sleeps! thats so awesome, so happy for u all.
izzy's still up a min of 2 times a night, more often its 3-4
We got our first smile the other day, was so nice, but we havent managed another one since.
and it would seem she's found her voice this morning and has been talking to herself for a good hour! so happy she's finally started, its so hard doing all those late night/early morning feeds when she doesnt give anything back yet!

At her weigh in last week she was just under 5 kilos, and she's almost out of the 000 bonds wondersuites, they're a funny size she's just grown out of her 0000 clothes, bit of a bummer because i bought so many 000 wondersuites! ah well, will just have to plan for a winter baby with number 3!

Wont do personals, bit far behind atm, but will put more of an effort in, i promise!
love and hugs
Skye
xxxx

Just a quicky...

I got the most cutest christmas outfit for Ava from Big W. It is a red dress/bodysuit with a headband, and I got a bib that is pink and red to match that has "daddy's little christmas fairy" written on it with a pic of a fairy. They have some nice t-shirts and outfits at Big W. I was looking at target for an outfit but I have to say, they are expensive!

Had a cranky arvo today after mums group. I ducked back out and left Ava with Steve for an hour or so while I did the supermarket shop and big W shop. When I got back she was screaming and unsettled and it took a good half hour for Steve and I to play tag team settling. Then she woke up an hour later and started up again, but it was almost time for a feed again, so we drank up, and she was a bit more settled. Thankfully she is now asleep and Im heading that way myself in a sec.

Usually she is such a happy bubba, really threw me for a 6 today. Was starting to worry that she was sick, but she would be fine and settle for a sec or two then start up again. She was also getting that phlemmy raspy noise in the back of her throat. I tried to give her water, but she doesn't like it. I have tried on a few occasions (when it was hot) and she screws her nose up at it and fusses. I thought maybe the water would clear the phlemy spit at the back of her throat....
Oh well...
I weighed her today too... with a full tummy and clothes on, she has rocketed up to 5.8kg! So still growing strongly.
On the sleeping front, we aren't going well at night. She is managing to get out of her muslin wrap and waking herself up! So the nights I think she will sleep through, she will wake up every hour and a half as she is out of her wrap. I don't feed her and she isnt screaming for food, just re wrap and settle her back down and she is fine. Anyone have tips on how to get her to sleep without a wrap or how to keep her wrapped up and the arms tucked in?

Kosi - if you swaddle Ava, I can highly recommend the Kiddopotomus SwaddleMe wrap - brilliant. Otherwise try a Grobag but their arms are free to move around. Izzy has been sleeping beautifully in her Grobags at night for the past 5 nights now but I swaddle her in a muslin during the day as it's been warm.

With regards to Ava being unsettled, I wouldn't be suprised if she's going through her 12 week 'Wonder Week'. I bought the book 'The Wonder Weeks' and have just been reading up on the week 12 growth spurt as I think Izzy started today too. She's been sleeping like a trooper all day but was unsettled between sleeps, super hungry before bed (fed off both sides then downed 110ml of EBM plus 40ml of formula :o ) and was hard to settle to sleep. She's out to it now but it took a good hour which is really unsual for her at night.

Hope that helps!

Night all :asleep:

PS: our close friends who are also our neighbours had their little baby today at 32 weeks! She had PE and was admitted last Thursday. They induced her last night but the little man got distressed and was whipped out via C/S. He's doing really well and breathing on his own which is brilliant. He's only 1.5kg though - super tiny in the photos! It's all a bit scary, makes me really appreciate how easy (well, relatively easy) Izzy's birth was.

PPS: Oooh, I love my new avatar! Not sure I'd be wearing a skimpy top like that IRL but I'm happy to look hot in cartoon land! LOL

Hiya,
Pooley - great news on Frazer's sleeping without the dreamfeed! Thats got to make life much easier. We found it quite free-ing to be able to have friends over in the evenings, or go out with the carrycot and know Tadhg would stay asleep - and you can have a glass of wine with dinner if you don't need to feed too late (our last feed is about 6pm).

Sangie - thanks for the food list, bananas is interesting! I wouldn't have thought of that.
Your experience just proves its entirely dependent on the baby whether they sleep through - not any special tricks to soothe etc, don't you think. Nice to have a good sleeper! Crossing fingers we might get lucky again with the next one - whenever that is!

Taurean - sounds like the sleeping is going really well for you guys - yay. Swimming already - very cool, look forward to the update about what it was like and if Izzy liked it!

Art - we sure are getting good wear out of the baby clothes, we are still in between sizes and most 000 are a little too big, so we have a few 0000 and a few 000. I'm quite pleased he can't fit the 000 jeans yet, as they just seem too rough for a wee baby, i dont think i'd buy them again - but they might be cute by Xmas if its not too hot. Its kinda handy having this cool spell continue - although its stuffing up my walking! I want to get out with the pram, but everyday looks like it might rain - Auckland!

Skybie - even if Izzy is a bit slower to start with the chatter, she's obviously doing really well in size! Almost 5kg and just into 000's is getting big :) Those wondersuits are so much cuter on than they look on a hanger aren't they - i wish we had stocked up before we left Aussie - next time!

Kosi - funny how you get so used to what to expect and then they throw a curveball to keep you on your toes! Hope Ava is more settled for you today. We use a Miracle Blanket to swaddle at night which ensures no arms come out, especially now he is starting to suck his hands / thumb.

AFU - we had 3 month jabs today :( It's so not fun, but i guess its only a few minutes they are sore. Fortunately he fell asleep in the car on the way home and is now in his cot - long may it last! We had a strange occurance this week, a nightmare! literally Tadhg had a nightmare, he was wimpering/crying and i could tell he was still asleep but it kept going for a minute so i went in to his room and he really cried out, but was still asleep - poor wee thing. I picked him up and cuddled him which i hope was the best thing to do and he went back to a calm sleep after a minute. Strange! Yay for making it to 3 months!!
45 minutes has obviously passed, i hear crying - here we go again.
K :)

Hi mums and bubs

I haven't been on here in ages so thought i would say hi. We got back from our Tongan holiday on tuesday - travelling with a bub is a lot easier than i thought. The hard thing for us was trying to keep Violet out of the sun.
I can't remember who asked but, the end result of Violets blood test is that she has an olive complexion - more like her dad than me (which i'm happy with).

Kosi I use a Bebe sleeping bag for Violet and she seems to like it. Violet sleeps on her tummy and tends to startle less than when i put her on her back.

Tonga has done wonders for our girl because maybe due to the sea air she is now sleeping through the nights - average 10 hours! I don't mind if it doesn't stay but it sure was nice to get some full nights sleep! She still however is extremly hard to get to sleep during the day and often will only have 30-40 min naps and won't fall into a deep sleep.

I am going to weigh her today but I think she maybe 6kgs!

Now my bad mothering - Violet has discovered the TV.....and yes I use to keep her occupied sometimes...like now for instance! What is everyone else doing with TV's?

Good to hear all is well........

Morning ladies. I havent been on for ages. I've been having trouble with Jackson cat napping through the day and find it very difficult to get much stuff done. Pleased to hear that everyone is going well.

Kelly Was the 3 month Jabs better than the 6 week ones you had? Jackson was terrible the day of after his 2 month Jabs so Im not looking forward to the 4 month ones. He is due to get them done the day before we go to NZ for Christmas but we will wait till we get back to Brissy to make travelling easier for him.

Well I went from having a baby that was a great day sleep to a terrible day sleeper. About 4 weeks ago Jackson decided that he was going to start cat napping 30 - 40 minutes at the most for his day sleeps :o..... I tried everything from feed play feed sleep to staying up longer after feeds, to back to bed earlier, everything. Nothing worked. He would also scream from 5pm to 8pm and then scream to sleep which was doing my head in and upsetting both me and DH.

I was at my wits end by Monday. So went to the Dr, he told me I had to let him CIO!!! WTF??!! I wasnt happy with this but thought I needed to give something a go. So we tried it and it broke our hearts. The first night Jackson cried for 1 hour and I cried every minute of that as well. So we decided that we couldnt keep doing the CC/CIO method, I felt like a terrible mother. Anyways long story short, we went to see the Child Health Nurse yesterday cos I didnt know what to do and she reassured me that it was normal for him to do the cat napping and I had to go back to the resettling method we were doing before hand.

Jackson has been sleeping through the night for a while now and recently has been going 7pm to 5/6am. But last night he woke at 4am which was odd and today when he work for his 8am feed and went back down at 9am there was no crying!!!!!! For the first time in 4-5 weeks my baby wasnt crying :o I couldnt believe it. It was like having my old baby back. But sure enough, he was awake again at that 30 minute mark. So I went in and cuddled him, re wrapped him and rocked him and put him back down to sleep. He took a while but he fell back to sleep on his own (yay! like the old days). So he's not been asleep for almost an hour and will be ready to wake for his next feed. So Im praying this is the start of better things to come :pray::pray:

Anyways I'd better leave it there. Sorry for the woe is me/selfish post. I need to get some laundry done while he is still asleep.

I will try and BBL. Hi everyone :D

Sanchez - if your a bab mum for tv.. then I'm a horrendous mum. I tend to watch tv while feeding Ava and even if I'm not watching it, it is usually on throughout the day for "noise". I have noticed that Ava looks towards it if it is dark outside. Its the light she is looking at. But I have a window behind me, so when burping her, she looks out the window. I think our bubbas are too young to understand and it isn't till they are a bit older, that using tv to baby sit is seen as a no-no.

Glad to hear the trip to Tonga went well... I found that with a baby there is no such thing as travelling light. How did you go with it? Guessing you got a cot/bedding over there? But when we went to the beach for a long weekend, we took bedding.. everything but the kitchen sink!

Well Ava seems to be settling down (after her spaz attack the other day) but is still getting out of her wrap at least once to twice a night, so I'm still up and re wrapping her. She greets me with talking and smiles... How can you be annoyed or angry that you had to get up when you're greeted with that? She is really eating her hands now. Her face is getting all slobbery from the hand muchies... Going to have to start putting bibs on full time I think!

Violet rolled for the 3rd,4th & 5th time today....did the first 2 in tonga....so funny. Only doing it from front to back...i think it is cause her belly is so big she gets a bit of a tilt happening! Whether it is true "development" i am not sure. Won't be leaving her alone on the change table now though thats for sure!

Oh Kosi - I am with you! I watch TV when I feed - there is only so much staring into her eyes i can do! I actually read that when they look away from you while feeding, you are supposed to do the same, it is their way of saying "ENOUGH"! Makes me feel better!
As for the packing for Tonga - wasn't too bad.....I took approx 70 nappies which took some space. Otherwise lots of clothes, big tub of wipes, we took the pram even though she hates it and yep it never came out of the travel bag! So all in all it wasn't too bad, being a boob baby helped - no need for formula or bottles. She co-sleeps so no I didn't take bedding, she just lies on top of a thicker wrap i have.
Violet is doing the same as Ava with the eating her fists - v messy! I am wondering if V will be a thumb sucker like i was - i sucked my thumb till i was 10 and my teeth paid the price.....v large orthodontic bill for my parents!!

BOB - I have been battling with the catnapping for weeks! Drives me crazy....sometimes i don't even get time to put her down before she is awake again. I have read all the books for settling techniques...they only make me mad now so i just let her do whatever....if she has a 3 hour nap fantastic...if not oh well. I can't ***** at the moment with her sleeping 10 hours overnight....am pretty happy with that :)

Oh well I am going to hit the sack.....tomorrows another day!

I have a cat-napper too. Drives me a bit nuts sometimes but there isn't much I can do. I've tried to re-settle but it doesn't usually work so he spends a lot of time on the floor or in his bouncer. He is a happy bub so I shouldn't complain. He is still sleeping 9-10hrs at night so no complaints there!

Kosi - I have the TV on in the mornings (DD watches ABC kids). Ethan will look at it but not really watch it IYKWIM? He is also a window starer lol! I put him in his bouncer in front of the window and he will happily look outside for ages. I think he likes to watch the trees moving in the wind!

Sanchez - glad the trip to Tonga went well. I have a fist sucker too! Ethan has also just discovered he has hands and holds them up and stares at them, very funny to watch!!

Bob - how is Jackson sleeping now? Yep cat napping is completely normal for some bubs hun so don't worry you aren't alone. My DD was a cat napper too but it was only a phase and she grew out of it. I'm hoping Ethan will be the same and we will be getting longer day sleeps soon :pray:

Taurean - love the new AV, looking hot!

Well I better fly. DD has swimming lesson soon. Can't believe its nearly Christmas! What is everyone getting there bubs for Chrissy (not that they will know lol!). DH wants to get Ethan his first Tonka truck lol! I think some new clothes will also be on the list. We don't have many 00 clothes and I think he'll be needing them soon.

Hello to those I missed and sorry! Hope you all have a lovely Sunday!

Ok - I've dedicated today to catching up on this entire thread. Things have been beyond hectic both babywise and lifewise and until today the thought of reading one page let alone 6 would have sent me into a tizzy.

I feel out of the loop with so much on BB having a prem baby, but I think I'm going to join the October 16-31 group too as that was his due date and that's the date that will hopefully closely follow his development. But he's already ahead development-wise on some of the markers in that group so I'm hoping that between the two groups we'll be covered!

Hope all is well with everyone and I'll post a longer one tonight.

S xo

Sanchez- I'm not keen on going on holidays but DH is always looking up deals to god knows where on the internet. I think Ffeeding would be so much harder than Bfeeding when it comes to traveling.
I'm sure you found it a challenge without that hassle!

Kosi- Frazer hasn't really discovered TV yet. We don't have really anywhere to put his rocker in the lounge room, just being the way it's shaped. I don't fancy moving the coffee table 10 times a day. Plus our telly is wall mounted and not really at his eye level.

A lot of catnappers in here it seems. I am extremely lucky Frazer's mornings are like clockwork. Up to feed, then stays awake for about 1hr- 1 1/2hr. Down for a cat nap of 30 mins and then wakes for his 2nd bottle of the morning. Awake after that bottle for about 1/2hr and down for a snooze between 2-3 hrs sometimes even 4!! Mind you he loves screaming his ring out between 4-6pm, that is his unsettled period and in this heat he sweats so bad. We have just discovered pushing him in the pram will get him off to sleep at the grizzly time so not so much screaming going on in our house anymore.... thank god.

DH told me about a women with a crying baby at the shops the other day while he was doing groceries. He said she obviously thought it was bad enough she had to apologize to him and he said he thought to himself, "lady, that's a whimper compared to my son!". DH didn't say anything but he just finds it amusing when other parents, especially my SIL with her 4 month old talk about how their child cries so much. Once we actually hear their supposed, "crying" we just thank god that Frazer only usually cries in that afternoon period. I have been tempted to put the ear plugs in (DH is in a band and uses them often) numerous times!! He has always been a really loud cryer from birth, I am yet to encounter a baby louder than him. Can't say his lungs weren't developed enough!!!

Hi Girls

All good here but I think Izzy might be going through the 12 week spurt as she has woken for a feed at 3am the past two nights. A bit weird given she's been sleeping 10 hours straight for the past couple of weeks. Have been reading my book, 'The Wonder Weeks', and it states that their sleep is really disturbed by the 12 week Wonder Week so I'm really hoping that's what it is and she settles again soon. This wonder week is the one where they gain more control over their limbs and their actions are a lot smoother (so hopefully goodbye to the startle reflex!). They can also focus better on moving objects. Pretty amazing really.

Izzy's getting more sleep during the day but we do spend a bit of time resettling her as she wakes frequently when she first goes down. With a bit of help from us (ie bouncing or swinging her hammock), she usually sleeps for 2-3 hours. It would be nice if we didn't have to resettle her so often but it sure beats having her attached to me in the sling all the time, especially as the weather is so much warmer now.

Sanchez - I bet Tonga was lovely! So, so jealous!! Glad to hear it wasn't a huge drama taking a baby on hols. We are planning a trip back to Vic to visit family and friends early next year and I'm already dreading the packing.

Pooley - one of my close friends has a very loud 'screamer' on their hands. He can holler like no other baby! I've never heard anything quite like it. He even had the middies running while my friend was at mum's group at the hossi the other week. They thought there was something seriously wrong as the screaming was so bad but nope, just a bit of wind and nothing new for my friend. The middies were stunned that my friend keeps her cool! LOL. Izzy has a gorgeous little cry, not very loud at all. She can definitely wind up when she wants to but even at her worst it really isn't bad. Would look pretty funny if she did have a super loud cry though as she is such a little girl, it just wouldn't suit her IYKWIM.

Bloominroses - hi hon. Glad to hear you little man is doing so well. Our friends (also our neighbours) welcomed their little man into the world a week ago - 8 weeks early!

Sangie - I've done a bit of Christmas shopping for Izzy already. I've bought her a few toys for different stages and some clothes in different sizes too. Izzy has loads of 000 clothes which she still doesn't fit into (LOL!) so I bought 00 and 0 clothes which included some cute winter clothes by Sprout which were heavily reduced at Myer. I love Sprout!

BoB - big hugs. Cat napping is hard but hey, you're not alone in this thread! Although Izzy is doing some decent sleeps during the day, we often have to resettle her throughout so technically she's a catnapper too. It can drive you a bit mad at times, hey. CC is heartbreaking! I tried it with Izzy once and I lasted all of four minutes and I cried the whole time. Never again! I let her grizzle in bed when I know she's tired but it's that kind of stop start whinging cry so it's not hard to listen to.

Kosi - Izzy inherrited a Christmas outfit from a friend and I actually gave it to their little girl for Christmas last year so it's nice that it came back to us. It's a Target one and so cute! I must dress her up and put her next to the Christmas tree (once it's up) and get some typical Christmas photos.

Kelly - swimming was a disaster! Izzy loves the bath but the pool was a bit of a shock for her. There was lots of lifting the babies and Izzy's neck wasn't quite strong enough so it freaked her out and she spent the entire class with a terribly worried look on her face, the poor little thing! She was fine once we were out but she wouldn't settle for the hospital volunteers, screamed blue murder to be honest, so I had to get out of the mums class after 10 minutes and take her home! I've decided to get her used to the pool at our own pace then return to the classes when she's a bit bigger.

Time for a shower while DH is watching our sleeping beauty. I haven't heard her for a while so she must be finally down for the long haul. I sure hope so!

Ciao chickies!

Taurean, I think A is having the 12 week growth spurt too. She slept though for about 2.5 weeks but has been up for a feed for the last three nights. Hopefully it passes. How is Izzy going now she has the medication?

Sanchez, your holiday sounds good. Congrats on the rolling! I think if it is repeatable then it is the milestone??

Pooley, F's lungpower sounds impressive lol. A is a squealer - if she needs a sleep she will let rip a high pitched squeal. So girly!

Sangie, not getting much for A for christmas. She doesn't understand so we have got her a little glowbug toy so far, might get something else if I though she might like it but not really worried about it. However, DS certainly knows what Christmas is about, I am really looking forward to it with him this year.

Kosi, maybe A was unsettled/feeding extra because of the 12 week growth spurt? It is the most major one.

Hi to everyone else, hope all is going well

Not a lot happening here. I am working towards getting A to sleep in her cot during the day instead of the sling or the couch. It seems to be going o.k and she will usually have a couple of naps in there. I think she has realised that it is a lot quieter in her room than anywhere near her brother lol. She is growing so fast, into 00 and crawler nappies now. I measured her the other day and she was 63 cm. DS was 18 weeks before he was that long! I am hoping she got some tall and skinny from MIL rather than my family's large butt lol

Pooley - our TV is wall mounted about 3 metres above the ground...i put V's activity mat about 2 metres out from the wall and she just lies on her back and stares up at it for ages. The TV is extrmely large so it is hard to miss! But we don't have a coffee table or anything in the road...i can understand not wanting to move furniture all the time! I did wonder how the formula feeding would go in a country where you can't drink the water. my understanding was that even boiling the water is still unsafe, and your not supposed to use bottled water so what are you supposed to do? Stick to 1st world countries! Does F have a dummy? does that help in his unsettled time?

Art - wow in the crawlers huh? what kg range are they for? V is still pretty comfy in the infants. V's weight is starting to plateau a bit so she might stay in them for a bit..only now 5.8kg...my arms are already hurting!

Taurean - how is it all going with the breast feeding? All going well? Yeah i didn't go overboard on packing and it still was a lot - don't know how women do it on their own - travel that is with the bub and all the luggage!

I had a few 'bite my tounge' moments over the weekend with my in laws (MIL,SIL's) who love to tell me what to do. I was chastised for not burping my baby, not using a pacifier (umm she won't take it i can't force her), not putting bows in her hair on a daily basis, not putting her in dresses. Violet is so good, she never cries, she is a happy baby that is feeding well, i am calm so i think she is calm because of it...i think i am doing a pretty good job. I just want to scream "SHE IS MY BABY AND I WILL DO WHAT I BLOODY WELL LIKE - BACK OFF B****ES!".

That is my vent!

LOL Sanchez scream all you like hun. People always seem to find the need to offer advice to new mums. I've learnt to nod and smile politely and then do what I want with the advice. My MIL is constantly giving advice. I know she means well and wants to help but she is very old school. For example she said the other day that I should start thinking about starting Ethan on rice cereal. Um no he is only 11 weeks old!!! My DD started solids at 6 months and she used to say that I was starving her. She was such a happy bub and was always up in the 75th percentile for weight/height so clearly she wasn't too starving.

Taurean - I have a serious addiction to sprout. My DD has so much of it and I've got a few sprout outfits for Ethan too now. I'm waiting for the post-Christmas sales to go and get more. DH will probably kill me lol!

Art - I'm really looking forward to Christmas with DD too. She is so excited already. Sounds like your little princess might be a tall girl! I'm a shorty so I'm hoping my kids are taller than me.

Pooley - sounds like Frazer is in a really good routine, makes life so much easier when you can predict how the day is going to pan out!

Bloominroses - great to hear from you! How is your little man going?

AFU we are going ok. Ethan is still sleeping really well at nights and cat-napping during the day. I'm really happy with his routine at the moment and I'm just waiting for the 12 week growth spurt to come along and stuff it all up lol! No sign of it yet and hoping it comes and goes without too much fuss :pray: Anyway I can hear him waking from a nap so better go, have a great week all!

Sanchez- Frazer used to LOVE his dummies when he was younger now he only wants one when he's going to sleep sometimes. I can get him to sleep without it but sometimes when he gets to the "screaming like a banchee" moments it calms him down, but not always. He also looks as though he doesn't know how to suck it anymore IYKWIM?? If I try to give it to him when he's sitting upright he has 2 or 3 sucks and then it kinda just slips outta his mouth. BTW, I never realised you couldn't used bottled water for formula, not that I was planning on it or anything. Do you know why?

I am so lucky my MIL and SIL are the best. They are always asking to do things and never pushy about stuff. I think they think they need to tread on egg shells with me 'cause of my BIL's wife. She is anal about anything to do with her kids and instead of just telling my MIL politely no, or I do things this way etc she just snubs them, doesn't talk to them or bring the kids over and they find out 2 days later via my BIL why she is cranky at them. Dumb woman.

My SIL baby sat on Saturday night for me at like 3 hrs notice. It was my first time out, I went to a cousins 21st. Frazer was suppose to come and DH had a gig and I just thought, bugger it I deserve to have a night out!! He was so good she said she'd do it anytime if he has a repeat performance! Yay!:clap:

Am also planning to go out with my besty on Friday night to the Brizzy casino. She has just come back from Canada where she was working on the 3rd Twilight film and am looking forward to getting the goss. I kinda get a little sad 'cause DH and I were gonna go and visit her in Vancouver this September before I found out I was pregnant. We were dead set on doing the cruise and seeing the Orcas (killer whales) together.... she went without me and got some great picks though. Sooooo jealous.

Sangie- We are hoping Frazer skips his 12 week growth spurt unsettled time too. He definately isn't eating more yet and is still doing between 7-9hrs overnight. His grouchy time is still between 4-6 but the pram usually works well so can't complain. DH is home today so it's xmas tree putting up time!! Hope everyone is having a good day.

Thansk for all your support ladies. Its great to hear Im not alone with the cat napping. I have put an end to the cluster feeding from 5-8pm and have started putting Jackson to bed at 7pm every night. And so far so good. He sleeps 7pm-5am usually, although the other morning he woke at 4am. But I dont mind cos its still a great sleep :)

Ive decided that Im just going to go with what ever he is doing now. Fighting him is only upsetting me and DH and its not good. At the end of the day it just means less gets done and I have less 'me' time but ah well. Im convincing myself its 'just a phase' :pray: :D

Aww Shanchez vent all you like. I thankfully have a MIL that knows when to stop dishing advice, but my own sister is good at offering sometimes 'unwanted' advice.

Art I reckon Jackson will be in 00's soon too. He still fits 000's but for summer I think it will be nicer if he is in slightly looser clothing.

Gah ok gotta go the boy is awake. Will BBL.

Hi Everyone

I have a spare few minutes to myself..the out-laws have taken the boys to the beach and Indi is asleep. I just put her in 00 new style wondersuit..I think they are smaller sizing than the original ones, she is waking once or twice over night but is generally a good baby.

Now that she is over 12wks I have changed formula to Karicare Gold + as her poos were to hard and had a consistancy of toothpaste..she was always straining to get them out. The Karicare poo is more like a soft breastmilk poo..and as a bonus it is a few dollars cheaper a tin. It is also made in NZ which I like :)

Im using the Grobag brand swaddle wrap which is the best one I have used. But she is nearly getting to the stage where nothing will keep her arms in and a Grobag will do. Also I dont know what you guys think about controlled crying but Im totally against it for bubs under 6mnths as there is always a reason why they are crying. The sleeplessness is worth it to hold/rock your bub if it means they are happy.

We are moving from Brisbane out to the country at the end of next week..to Esk for those in QLD. There isnt too much out there but it will be a tree change IYKWIM.

bye for now

Hi everyone,
Nicola - glad you've got the NZ made formula ;-) Sounds like its suiting Indi which is great. We found that one a little hard to mix and it fluffs up a lot - but smells nicer than some other brands. I'm wondering whether to let Tadhg cry it out, but tending to agree with your thinking, surely they only cry because something is wrong - even if its overtired and they need help to sleep. So i think i will try and stick with settling him when he wakes (which is a lot in the day) and soon he'll work it out - hopefully! The annoying thing is no-one else can settle him so if i go out his Dad tends to get crying and more crying :(

BoB and others - the whole catnapping thing seems to be a common phase when babies start waking in their lighter sleep cycles. We are going through the same - thank goodness for good night sleeps! I think the afternoon crying is because they get so overtired from not sleeping in the day - its horrible huh :( Hoping its a phase! I hate to tell you the 2nd immunisations were a bit worse than the first, Tadhg really cried - but only for 1-2 minutes (compared with about 30 seconds last time) and he got a big lump in his leg which is apparently a common reaction. But still not all that bad!

re TV's - i've been avoiding letting Tadhg look at it, thinking it wasnt good for him somehow - but now i did a quick look on the net, i'm not sure its bad for them other than not providing as much learning skills as other options.

Taurean - how is Izzy's sleeping now? What a bummer losing the all night sleeps again - just when you got used to it! Tadhg seems to have skipped the 3 month growth spurt, or is going to have it a bit later as all seems relatively normal at the moment. He could do with a growth spurt to be honest! Just changing to infant nappies today, and only because i've run out of newborn size! Looking forward to a weigh in next Tuesday, but i don't think he'll be much above 5kg. Bummer about the swimming - i didn't realise you handed her over for it, mostly in NZ you stay with your bub I think. Tadhg would most likely cry too i think, he gets scared in big noisy spaces, like coffee group / out and about.

I'm doing my head in with this not-sleeping business. It's really confusing. Tadhg now wont sleep when i'm out shopping or in the car, although i think he did sleep for one car trip today. After a 10 minute nap he thinks he's done. Half the time we end up with a crying baby, and the other half a smiling giggling one pulling his hands out of my attempt to swaddle to suck his thumb. What do you do if your baby lies in his cot for an hour cooing and looking around!? It's very weird - but i know he has to be tired because he has hardly slept today. Anyway - just being thankful that 'so far' today has not been a crying day and he should still go to bed at 7:30!
What do others think about crying it out - and also having a dummy to go to sleep?
Kelly :)

Kelly - Tadhg sounds exactly like Ethan in the sleep department. I'm forever trying to settle him during the day and then when I finally do get him to sleep he is awake again after only 20mins. Does my head in some days! He has also stopped sleeping in the car and the pram is hit and miss. I'm really hoping this is just a phase that he grows out of very soon! Although he has been a bit more unsettled than usual for the last couple of days (and feeding more!) so maybe this is the 12 week growth spurt??!! I won't leave him to cry it out, I just can't bring myself to do it. I'd probably end up in a teary mess too! He does have a dummy but lately he keeps knocking it out of his mouth with his hands as he rubs his eyes/face when he is trying to sleep. I gave up wrapping him a while ago as he hates it and just screams lol!

Nicola - good luck with the move.

Pooley - glad you managed to get some child free time. I'm going out Christmas shopping this weekend with my sister and my mum and leaving the kids at home. I really need some child free time at the moment, I just hope that Ethan will be a good boy and sleep for his dad as he usually only settles with me. Fingers crossed or else I guess it will only be a short shopping trip.

Bob - Ethan is in 00 growsuits now but wears 000 t-shirts, shorts and pants.

Arrggghhh there he goes again, have a good day all :D

Hi Girls

I hope everyone is well. We are both really well, except my stupid upper back and neck which is still giving me hell :wall:

There's been lots of chatting about day sleeps, cat napping and crying so I thought I'd put in my two cents worth and tell you where we are out now and what we are doing.

Izzy is sleeping roughly 10 hours a night, straight through most of the time. She's woken at 3am for a feed 4 nights in the past 2 weeks and after our meeting with the maternal health nurse today, it looks like she's just trying to increase my supply - will elaborate on that later. Other than those random 3am feeds, she is sleeping straight through generally from 7pm-5am or 8pm - 6am. It's brilliant.

Day sleeps are fantastic for us now too. Izzy generally sleeps for 3 hours in the morning then has another couple of hours in the afternoon. If we are out in the afternoon (I'm avoiding going out in the mornings now as her routine is working well), she tends to sleep in the car or pram - generally another 1-2 hours all up. I learnt quite a lot from our day stay at sleep school (and regained my confidence with knowing her cries) and I'm using a lot of the techinques we learnt there to settle Izzy during the day. It's working beautifully.

We work on a 1.5-2 hour awake time schedule when we are at home and out. Izzy wakes up around 6ish say, has a feed (generally takes about 45 minutes) then it's play time - a mixture of play gym, rocker, reading a book with me, tummy time and chatting. I check her for tired signs around 1.5 hours after she's woken and start getting her ready for bed. I swaddle her and pop her dummy in and give her a quick cuddle and rock in our rocking chair in her nursery. After a few minutes I pop her in her hammock and gently rock and bounce her to sleep. Sometimes there is no fuss and she goes straight to sleep, other times I have to spend 10 minutes rocking her and putting her dummy back in. She often protests but I now know it's just her tired protesting cry and it doesn't last long at all. I don't leave the room until she has nodded off. If she stirs during her nap (ie cries) I go in and bounce/rock the hammock or give her the dummy if I think she needs it. I only get her up if she is really unsettled or if she is due for a feed and appears ready to get up. I repeat the whole process after her next feed.

When we are out I work on the same schedule. It doens't work quite as well while we're out as there is more going on (ie more for her to sticky beak at!) and she is interrupted ie in and out of the car, pram, shops, etc. I still stick to it though and often she will nod off in the car or the pram. I always take my Bubba Moe sling with me everywhere as if she won't settle in the pram, I pop her in the sling and she nods off without fail if she's due for a sleep.

Today we had to see the health nurse at 9.30am so I put her to bed at 7.45am and transferred her to the pram at 9.15 and walked to our appointment. So she got almost 2 hours sleep. When we got back I gave her a quick feed (she had been awake for 1.5 hours), swaddled her and popped her into bed. She was asleep straight away and has been down for 1.5 hours now.

Bedtime is always around 7 (well that is our goal) so I alter the time frame and feeds later in the day to fit with that. Izzy gets a bit grumpy around 5ish as she knows it's wind down time to bed. If she's grumpy we take her for a walk and that keeps her happy. Around 6 we give her a bath then I feed her straight after that. We pop her in her Grobag then give her a formula top up (she'll have anywhere from 30ml to 160ml as my supply is low around then) then put her in the cot for the night. She goes down without any fuss.

So that's how we do it and it really does work well. The sling is my saviour if she won't settle while we are out and about - highly recommend one of these if you don't have one already. If you can afford a hammock, I highly recommend them too. It works a treat.

I hope that helps someone! One thing I did learn about catnapping at sleep school is often babies can be resettled after a catnap as they are often just coming out of their sleep cycle and need a little help to nod back off again. That definitely works for Izzy when she stirs after 45 minutes.

CC/CIO - I'm not a fan of it at all. Babies only cry to communicate with us and if we don't respond to their cries, then how are they supposed to trust us? Another thing I learnt at sleep school was that most babies need help to get to sleep and they will stir at the end of their sleep cycle, just like adults. The only difference with adults is that we know how to get back to sleep, babies have to learn that. Also remember, as adults we have restless nights when we struggle to sleep or we may sleep lightly, so we have to expect that babies will be the same, IYKWIM.

I'm thrilled with the routine Izzy has gotten herself into (I haven't forced it at all, it's all her own doing) and feel so much more relaxed now as I can predict her a little more and plan our days a little better.

Oh, before I stop babbling, Izzy was weighed and measured today. She hasn't gained much weight (she's only 4.74kg but has grown 9cm since birth though) so I need to try to sneak in a couple more feeds during the day when she's awake. That's the downside of a good day sleeper! LOL. I'm going to give her more formula top ups too from now on and I'm thinking of weaning once my last lot of medication runs out for my supply and vasospasm (in my nipples). Breastfeeding has been a hard slog and I'm ready to switch to formula if she doesn't gain much within the next couple of weeks.

Well I'm off now to jump on the Wii Fit before missy wakes up! Ciao!

PS: Losec has done wonders for Izzy's silent reflux too. I seriously have a different baby these days!

PPS: I posted my birth story in the 'Birth Stories' thread for anyone interested in reading it.

Pooley - I meant with the bottled water that you can't just use it without boiling it like normal water. Purified isn't sterile IYKWIM. Yay that you got to have a night out! Makes you feel human again!

Nicola - Good luck in Esk....i bet it is hot out there! I saw on the news the other night that Dalby has run out of water - bit scary!

Kelly - V is the same in that I am sometimes the only one who can console her....I went t an appointment a couple of weeks ago and chose not to take her as I wanted DH to see what i go through every day........and yes i came home to him frantically bouncing on the pilates ball, with a boggle eyed Violet and a stressed out father! I was only gone about 40 minutes! Apparently she cried for about 35 of those! He has been more understanding ever since!
I know what you mean about the TV...(and apparently more than 1hour a day at this age is bad for their eyes) but V is usually awake from about 6am till 7.30pm on average with maybe 2 half hour sleeps in the day. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH HER FOR THIS LONG! We play with toys, sing songs, read stories, have tummy time, have naked time...she won't go in the pram or sling so that restricts me to the house usually. What else is everyone else doing?......I can't sing to her for 15 hours a day!
I can't help you with the crying and dummy....V goes to sleep on the boob...thats how i get her to sleep every time, i could count on 2 fingers the amount of times i have rocked her to sleep. If i put her down awake she can't get herself to sleep. What if you let T suck his thumb would he get himself to sleep?

Sangie....I feel like there are a lot of us battling with the non-sleeping babies! Maybe its a 12 week thing. Oh for the early days........!!! I must admit though, Violet hardly ever cries, and i feed consistently through the witching hours so she never cries then....god help me when i have a 2nd baby and don't have the time to breastfeed all day....i won't have a clue what to do!


:confetti::confetti::confetti::confetti: throwing sleepydust for all the bubs!

Taurean - we posted at the same time. I must say i am envious of yours and Izzys routine. I am quite willing to swap babies!
I hear what you are saying about trying to get them back to sleep after a catnap - in theory it sounds great - Violet won't do it -once her eyes are open she is up and ready for another 4 hour play session!
Thats a shame she hasn't put on much more weight - but if the time comes for you to switch to formula, you can be proud that you fought a tough battle. I'll give you A++++ for sheer willingness and determination.....never doubt yourself on that much. And all babies are different, so your next one not necessarily will have the same outcome :hug:

.....still in awe of your daily sleeping schedule!

Nicole All the best with the move to Esk. Hope its not too hot there compared to Brissy :) Pleased the new formular is working well too.

Re the sleeping out and about *Puts hand up* Im in that camp too. Jackson almost refuses to sleep in his pram or carseat nowadays. And yep when he's had 10 minutes he thinks its wake time again :wall: :o!!! We travel to NZ in 2 weeks so I hope he copes ok with the flight :pray: I find that when were out and he's in the pram wrapping him helps him to nod off. But its usually murphy's law 5 minutes before we want to leave so we either end up staying longer or disrupting him again. Gah cant win!!!

We did the CIO and I hated every minute of it. I cried through the whole hour it went on. We have now gone back to resettling him every 2 - 5 minutes or so depending on if he is crying or grizzling. If he is grizzling we leave him to drift off, but crying we go in.

Taurean Jackson has his biggest sleep in the morning too. He will sleep 3 hours usually and its great. Its his best sleep on the day. Your routine is great. We used to have a routine almost the same as yours until Jackson decided to start catnapping. Gawd, I cant wait to have my old baby and routine days back. Are you BFing??

Is anyones babies rolling yet?