Babies born~September 1st-15th 2009 #2

Hi

Glad you are feeling better Renee. I feel better this week..I realised that when I felt bad the other week it was PMS so I think hormones have alot to do with how Im feeling, I had just forgotten about it as I havnt had many periods in the past few years..lol.

Indigo is fully crawling on her knees now and standing up on chairs etc so it is a handful esp with the boys being into everything. Indi follows me everywhere and she has snuck up on me a few times and I have nearly stood on her when turning around.

Im having a baby market stall next sunday the 29th May at the Norths Leagues Club at Kallangur to get rid of all my baby and kids clothes. Indi is 8kg now and wearing size 0 mainly.

Bye for now

Taurean, yip, first car sleep since she was a newborn. If we want her to sleep in the car we have to pull over and feed and jiggle her then ever so carefully place her back in the carseat - then she is awake 20 minutes later! Drives me mental! I would love to see Iz and A together, they would look like pumpkins and peas lmao.

Sanchez, bummer about the patting to sleep and the straw feeding. I think V is still one up on A, she hasn't even managed to pop a tooth yet.

Nicola, I wish there were some kids markets around here, I have all sorts of baby crap that I don't need and don't want to hoard for years in case someone I know has a baby.

A is wearing mostly size 1 stuff now. She fits a couple of 0 pants but the tops are too tight. We went to a mothers group today and she is the same size (or bigger) as two girls that are turning one this week and she was much much wider. I hope she doesn't keep her truck like proportions.

I have also taken her out of the bath seat so she just sits in there now which she is loving. Taurean, your post reminded me that DS was a serial bath pooer, up until after he was 1. Then I was marvelling that A had only had a couple of accidents and then of course she dropped one in there. Luckily she is still a peanut butter kind of girl so it went down the plughole with no effort required.

Evening ladies

Sorry we have been MIA for the last few days. Hope everyone and bubs are good. Think we are both on the mend but got hit pretty hard by the colds that we got. Both of us ended up on antibiotics and they seem to have worked as we are slowly getting better. Felt like death warmed up for a few days. Wasn't helped by Sam's sleeping patterns being all over the shop. He got my hopes up one night sleeping from 7pm through to about 5am before he woke but was very short-lived as was back to waking a few times a night the next night. I think it was an accumulation of broken nights of sleep over 2 months that got to me. Sam's off the antibiotics now so hopefully his cough will go away naturally. I kindof side on the fence when it comes to antibiotics as I know their uses but don't want to get him used to taking them from a really early stage. Am trying as best possible to keep him to a routine during the day but is difficult when he is waking at differnt times during the night and therefore his day is starting at a different time each day!

Taurean too funny about Izzy and pooing in the bath. Sam pees the minute he is put in the bath which I assumed was due to the temp of the water but luckily hasn't pood yet! Art not sure what would be worse a nice nugget or peanut butter !!!! Congrats to your hubbie on his promotion. both of you must be so pleased but bummer about not going to Brissie though upside is at least you won't have any jetlag to deal. You must also be relieved about the result of the scan on her head. It certainly doesn't look big on her photos.

Art have you thought about Ebaying the baby stuff that you have? You might be surprised by how much stuff you'd be able to offload. You could try either packaging a number of items together rather than selling indivually. Wow to A wearing size 1. Sam is still wearing size 00 though I have just been stocking up on size 0 as top wise he is just about ready for them. I really wish there was some consistency with the sizes between brands. What will fit in one size doesn't fit in another. He's pretty slim so I think waists will always be an issue and I might need to make sure I get the ones that are adjustable. Bummer about A not sleeping in the car. Sam does if he is tired but I am crap about transferring without waking so I've been known to shout and shout at him to keep him awake until we get home! I must look more than slightly deranged to the other drivers.

nicola best of the luck with the baby market. Sounds like you will need to have eyes in the back of your head with regards to I crawling/creeping up on you.

Bob yah for commando crawling and sitting from crawling. Sam still has to achieve both of these. I keep willing him to do so though I know I will rue the day he starts. Our house is on a few different levels so lots of gates and lots of things to be put away. We'll just have to work out what to put everything !!!!! that we don't want him to touch. We will finally have the carpets sorted next week so I can try to get some semblance of order back into the house.

Sanchez - how you are you V going? PMSL at first about her taking food through straw and then saw it was short lived. Are you BLS or going down the puree road? I have the book by Annabel Karmel which I find great for different ideas of things to make and combinations. Isn't it funny the different ways babies wake. Sometimes Sam will wake up and talk away to himself and other times wakes up screaming like he is being murdered? Perhaps him and V are being murdered by the same person? How is her constipation going or has it sorted itself? How did you go with the different formulas. Was the Bellamys any good?

Sangie yah for Ethan waving. Too cute. Did you teach him or did he pick it up. Good idea for having your night off during the week. Like Taurean said I think it will work well for recharging batteries. They can take a hammering at times. Especially those that have 2 to look after! How is Ethern going with his helmet. He really doesn't look a bit bothered by it on the photos on FB.

Okay thats it for me for tonight. Hope I haven't missed anyone / anything.

Nighty night all

Kelly OMG so sorry just realised that I missed you and T. Sorry to hear that poor little T isn't to good. Hope the antibiotics work quickly and you both can go back to having proper nights sleep. Don't know if it would work with T but we put humidifier in Sam's room and it seemed to help with the coughing and waking. One of the other girls suggested it online here when I'd said that he was sick. I know I was very tempted to steal it from his room when I was coughing all night too! It may just have been the antibiotics working and cold working through the system but hey reckon we'll get good use of it over the next few years. Winter hasn't even really started yet so just wondering what they'll get when it does hit. Hope you're better soon. X

Hey ladies! LMAO on the poo in bath talk. I've heard lots of floating log stories but thankfully I'm yet to experience that joy (and hopefully won't!). Ethan tends to poo at around the same time every day which makes it easy to time his bath after the big event lol!

NW3, Ethan is going well with his helmet and yes it doesn't seem to bother him at all. We are going to the orthotics clinic this afternoon for a check up. Yes we taught Ethan how to wave. Well Elena mostly did, sat in front of him and waved and eventually he started doing it back. Glad to hear you and Sam are on the mend and hopefully you are both back to normal soon. I hear you on the peeing in the bath but Ethan tends to do it after I've got him out of the bath gggggrrrrrrrr!!!

Art, I sold some of my stuff on ebay too. I'm not bothering with the clothes, might save those for any future friends/family babies. I sold our bassinette, baby bath and capsule though. Felt kind of sad to be honest but we don't want any more kids so no point having it all hanging around I suppose. Wow on size 1 already! We are still on 0 mostly but I can see us moving up to 1's in the next couple of months. I tried Ethan without the bath seat but he kicks he legs so much (and drenches me in the process!) that he loses his balance and falls over. So we will be using the seat for a while longer!

Taurean, OMG at the missing guy living so close to you. I hope they find out what has happened to him. I don't blame you for staying with your parents and I bet you got spoilt haha! Hope your DH gets back soon, it sucks when they go away. Sounds like Miss Izzy has grown up a lot lately! Yes of course I bought something on my shopping trip lol! I really wasn't going to but then saw a gorgeous pair of ankle boots and yeah, couldn't leave them lol!

Nicola, sounds like you need eyes at the back of your head! Good luck at the baby market!

AFU we had DD's 3rd birthday which was a lot of fun, I love kids parties! I can't wait to start planning Ethan's lol! DH thinks I'm nuts (well if the shoe fits lol!). Ethan is slowly getting the hang of moving around. He wiggles around like a caterpillar and has brief moments of going on to knees and rocking. He can also bum shuffle a little too. So will be interesting to see if he decides to crawl or not. His favourite thing is standing though, gets a big grin on his face and starts jumping and taking steps when you hold him up. Better fly, today is catch up day with the housework. I'm so behind :( Have a great day xo :)

NW3, hope the colds are getting better. I would like to Ebay (Trademe) my baby stuff, but we live in the middle of nowhere so I doubt anyone would want to travel a couple of hours to pick it up.

Sangie, good job with E's cake! Hope you had fun with your housework. Did E crawl or bum shuffle? Bum shuffling seems to run in families.

Miss A is loving the activities we go to. She is such a social little thing. Today we went to music, at the end the kids all sit on a mat and have a biscuit so she walked (holding my hands) over there, plonked herself down and then got in a right tiz when she didn't get a biscuit (so her sap of a mum gave in and passed her one lol)
She also had a tumble off the couch today, so no more sitting up there for her.

Where is everyone?

Still no teeth, still no tricks.

I'm here!

LOL Art. She's just absorbing everything and then one day 'BAM' she'll start doing everything! No teeth here either! I don't mind, I love the gummy smiles.

Anyhow just a quickie from me. It's lovely outside today so we are going to try and tackle the garden. Enjoy the weekend :)

Oh man - i've missed heaps again. Tadhg has been quite sick, and I've still been working - so its been a busy week!
AM - hmm may look into a humidifier, we sat in a steamy bathroom with Tadhg every night and then had a shower with him before bed and that seemed to help decongest him - so it makes sense a humidifier would help too. I assume it doesnt make clothes and blankets damp? We've also now invested in baby balsam/vicks, karvol (smelly liquid you put on bub's blanket near their face to sniff), an ear thermometer... not cheap these little tikes! :D Sad to hear you guys have been sick too :( So not fun trying to look after a baby when you don't feel well. Hope you're on the mend xx

Taurean - I was going to say (kinda irrelevant now) Izzy's head is about the same as Tadhg's - large but looks normal - i think they have a similar head shape, just wide around the top bit you measure. Ditto on the clothing restrictions - I have to send back a cute top i got online cos there is no way he can fit it over his head lol. Izzy is doing really well - she sounds full on! I'm tired enough with Tadhg, and he sits in one place (apart from wanting to jump up and down on my knees) hehe

Sanchez - V sounds like such a character, it will be so interesting to see how her personality comes out as she gets older. I hope you are still feeling sane with all this jiggling to sleep etc :) She is a real cutie too. No advice on formula sorry - we use S26 and i think it smells foul. But i do know you can get free samples from most of the websites - karicare, heinz etc - so that might be helpful? My plunket nurse told me i need to put Tadhg on a new formula to increase his iron - i'm pretty sure its just panic about nothing, i'd rather he kept pooping really! Cute that V liked sucking the fruit up. Tadhg is a one minute wonder too - every day i think i've found something he likes and then he just changes his mind the next day. I generally resort to crap food, which i never thought i would... he usually seems to like snax crackers, plain biscuits, tinned peaches (he just grabs a whole slice), raisins. Then anything else he eats is a bonus!

And also - i think we have teeth coming, finally i can see a bit of white on his gums. Still not much else new, he is awesome at peeka boo aka 'where's Tadhg?', he thinks he is hilarious!, trying to encourage waving, clapping and pointing to parts of my face - but they can only learn so much at once i guess :) 9 months today! Tadhg has now officially been out longer than in!

I'm being called for a phone call with the inlaws. Be back during the week to touch base with everyone.
Hope the rest of you are well xxx

I'm here too! This week has been super busy. We now have something on each week day to keep us busy and most importantly, keep me happy! Our house cleaner started this week too so it's been a damn good week. :D

Kelly - T and Iz do have very similar heads, don't they! I've thought that before, both the shape and lack of hair, LOL! Everyone is quite surprised when I mention that Izzy's head is off the chart, it just doesn't look that big. I'm sure she'll grow into it eventually. According to my mum, we all grew into our 'huge' heads. :rolleyes: How cute is peek-a-boo. Izzy loves it too. It's so adorable!

Art - is A really standing unsuported?! That is one very clever party trick!!! Izzy is cruising the furniture and pulling up on everything and she can stand holding onto something with one hand but not completely unsuported. That is impressive! Love the new pics on FB. I admire you for letting her get in amongst the mud. I need to let Izzy go nuts in some filth one day soon. Oh, and PMSL at the mental image of our girls together - the Pea and Pumpkin heads. LOL!

Sangie - great job on Miss E's birthday cake! Looks like she had a fun birthday. Did she love her pressies?

AM - Izzy's sleeps are all over the place lately too. She's teething again (looks like her top two are on their way) and she's had a virus. She lost her voice and has been hoarse for a week now! She seems to be on the mend now but has been waking about an hour after going to bed (needing a cuddle to fall back to sleep) then waking for a feed throughout the night too. She slept with me 3 out of 4 nights while at my parents she was that bad. She's slept better the past two nights though and even slept until 8.30 yesterday morning once we brought her into our bed when she woke at 6am. Sure beat starting my day at 6am! So is your new carpet finally being laid this week?!

Nicola - how'd you go at the baby markets?

AFU - all good here. Missy has been sick with a virus (which I had too) and has been teething too so we've had a marvellous week, not. I was so glad I decided to go to my parents while DH was away. The extra pairs of hands were very helpful! Iz slept with me 3 out of 4 nights as she just kept grizzling in her sleep, poor poppet. I was dosing her up on Nurofen, Panadol and Highlands Teething tablets just to help dull the pain. She seems to be getting better now although her voice is still a bit hoarse.

Izzy discovered our oil heater in the lounge today. It scared the hell out of her and warmed her hands a little too much but she was ok. It freaked me out though as it was like someone put our lives in slow motion at that point, I just couldn't get to her quick enough and just watched her little face grimace as she realised the thing she was holding was pretty darn hot! It was awful but hey, she's fine and we've all learned a lesson from it.

Our new house cleaner started on Thursday and boy was it awesome! I feel so lucky to have a cleaner but I think DH feels even luckier that his happy wife has found her way home, LOL! It's just the perfect solution to help get me out of my rut as I'm forced to leave the house for 3 hours every Thursday and if it's a nice day, I'm going walking with one of my friends and her bub. Last week I met two friends at the cafe on the river near our house so not only did we have a nice morning tea on the river but we had a great walk AND the house was spotless on our return home. I was on cloud nine that afternoon. I had no idea how much the stress of letting the housework go was getting to me.

Bed time for me. I'm expecting another wakeup call at some random hour, it seems to be the norm again now. :doh:

Night!

I am here too!

Taurean - you have just made me one envious woman with the thought of a housecleaner. I would be happy if someone would just clean our wooden floors and the bathrooms tiles - they are both the stuff i hate. Thats terrifying about the heater......now they are on the move I guess things like that are bound to happen, thank goodness it wasn't an open fire. That photo of her is so adorable on your Ticker. She is quite the little miss.

Kelly - Thats is no good about T being sick, and Izzy for that matter. I have been quite surprised at how many times V has been sick....hope this doesn't mean her life will be plauged with sickness. I have been putting the baby balsalm on V - don't know i it did much though. We got a humidifyer called a Hippo and it is good because it lasts 7 hours so it goes through the night without a refill.

With a quick push of the keyboard V managed to freeze and then crash the computer. I haven't finished my post but will get back to it at some stage!
Didn't want you thinking I was rude!

Hi all - looks like we've all been here but not posting. Funny how 8-9 month old babies can take up so much time.

Sanchez - so V is going for a career in computers eh? They are so cute the way they always want to be doing what you are doing. Sam constantly grabs for my keys now and screams (very loudly in annoyance) when I take them away. I may need to just get a set to give him so that I can actually drive the car get into the house when I want to !!!!! How is she going these days? Have you had any joy with any of the formulas? It must be touch trying to get her to take it. The upside to all the feeding issues I had in the begining means that Sam will take formula no problem and doesn't appear to be fussy in relation to what one it is. We're also using S26 Gold. He got really bad nappy rash when he was on the Nan don't know if it was the Nan that caused it but stopped using it and went back to the S26.

Kelly - thats not good that poor little T has been sick. Least they are building up their immune system for futher down the track I guess. We have the Taav brand but I do see that it is a Vaporiser rather than humidifier. (Sent hubbie to get it and this is what he came back with - don't know if there is much difference between the two or which brand is better/worse). I set it up other side of the room from where he sleeps and he or room didn't seem damp. We got one of the ear thermometers too when he was sick in Ireland. he just doesn't sit still long enough to do the under arm bit. Expensive things but worth it. Are you going full BLS with T or making any meals for him. I've a lovely cod, sweet potato and orange receipe that Sam loves if you want it.

Taurean - poor little Izzy with the oil heater. We are starting to baby proof the house and move everything up onto higher ground. Not that Sam is cruising or even crawling yet though he is now starting to pull himself up by the side of the cot so no doubt both of these won't be toooo far away. We've ended up having to buy some new furniture that is more baby proof - new entertainment unit and shelves oh and I tossed in a new wardrobe for his room. I think he has more clothes that Chris and I put together though given that we literlly need a change after every meal its probably just as well! It really sounds like you have your hands full with her motoring around. Well done on getting a cleaner. DH has suggested to me that we get one mainly to do hoovering and bathrooms. There is only so much you can in the limited time that they are sleep for. Hope her night waking sorts itself out. It really is tiring when you have broken sleep.

Art cant believe you are saying that A doesn't have any tricks. Just look at her standing and the proud little look on her face. Sam tries to standing but wobbles and wobbles like he's had waaaaayyy to much to drink. And you said she was able to walk holding your hands. The new piccies on FB are fab. I really have to sit down and load up mine over the last few months. Thats a shame that you live to far away for Trademe to work. Any local papers that you could try to sell the stuff in? I am sure you are not the only with littlies.

Sangie - hope your gardening went well. We had crap weather in Sydney all weekend rained and rained so no outdoor activities. How did you go with the follow up visit to the ortothics clinic. Is everything going okay?

AFU well had a very unsettled weekend though I think the reason made its appearance today. His 2nd little tooth has popped through. He was really fussy all over the weekend and didn't want to feed either milk or solids - unless of course it was the middle of the night and then he was happy to BF. he had me in tears at the weekend thinking I was going to starve him when he wouldn't take anything. Silly i know but guess thats what happens when your tired. We were supposed to go out on the Saturday night but the babysitter fell through so I ended up staying at home. Was just as well as he was up quite a bit. He is also (albeit several months late) now staring to move around in his cot and roll over on this tummy and hasn't worked out how to roll back yet. He is also just starting to make actions like he trying to work out what crawling is so I think all those combined will mean I'll be up in the middle of the night for a while longer.

Nothing else much to relate though half the carpets are in and other half gets done this week. We now have our bedroom and more importantly my beautiful bed back and I am currently packing up the living room area so that carpet can go in there. (well okay actually I'm on here but in theory that is what I should be doing). I am soo soo soo looking forward to having my house back.

On that note I will go and do some packing before the little man wakes up. Speak soon and kisses to bubs Xx

NW3, that has taken ages to get your carpet done! Will be great having all back usable. Is walking holding hands a trick? LOL, I thought all babies did that! Yay for A then! She is only leaning on the couch in that pic, it is just doesn't show very well.

Taurean, I would love a housecleaner! Unfortunately DH thinks that since I am at home all day I have time to do all the cleaning. Bummer about the burn, they are quick little things when they are after something they shouldn't be touching!

Sanchez, how goes the sleeping? I think we have joined the ranks of crapville now too. A is sleeping for the first couple of hours and then wakes every hour for the rest of the night. Last night she woke 8 times, and DS woke up 4 times. Not a happy mum.

Kelly, my budget solution to blocked noses is to dab some eucalyptus oil on a tissue and hang it somewhere by their heads. We seem to have avoided the first of the winter bugs, but I am sure we will get our fair share over the coming months.

Sangie, I love the gummy smiles too (and intact nipples!)

A has started to play with DS, it is so adorable! She hand walks over to him and then reaches out to grab him and he squeals and she laughs. It is very cute! She seems to like music too, we have been watching youtube clips and she 'sings' along dadadayabadada etc for the entire song lol. And she gets a huge smile when Achy Breaky Heart comes on, but I suspect she may be laughing at me!

Guys I just wanted to aska quick question before I fall asleep.
I got AF back at 6 months and since have had problems with erratic bleeding. Not having proper periods and having mini bleeds every 2 weeks or so. I am taking the mini pill and I have missed the occasional pill and I begin bleeding within 12 hours.
Does it take time for your body to return to normal or does this sound wrong and I need to see a doctor? I think I was holding out till V was off the boobs and I could go back to my normal pill but I can't see that happening anytime soon.
What are peoples thoughts?

Sorry love no idea. I got AF back at 5 months exactly but have had long cycles since then probably 6 weeks rather than normal 4. Im not taking anything and was surprised given that I am still breastfeeding. To me it looks like everyones body operates differently. One of the girls in my MG for her period back really really early after her little boy slept through one night. Why don't you give the Health Direct line a call - 1800 022 222 - you'll get through to a registered nurse there and they can tell you whether you need to go to the doc or not or if its normal. Hope this helps. X

PS quick question how do I change my picture on my ticker. Do I just go to the Lilypie website and upload new photo? I think this is one is due for a change now.

Sanchez - sounds like fun, not! I haven't got AF yet (woohoo!) so I can't speak from experience but I'd say it's a combination of breast feeding and the mini pill. I have a close friend who can't take the mini pill as it messes with her body - she bled more than she didn't when she was on it!!! Some spotting and some heavy bleeding. Her periods without the pill have been irregular too but further apart and gradually getting more regular. She's about 5 months in and down to 31 days last cycle. I'd see you GP I think.

AM - yup, log into Lilypie to change your photot. I find it a bit temperamental at times so I'd recommended actually removing the existing pic (instead of just editing the ticker) then uploading the new pic.

Back to sleep for me providing I can put little Missy back down....

Ahhh - it's 8pm and I have eaten dinner and having a cuppa - don't mention that i should be doing the dishes... DH can do them tomorrow ;-)

Sanchez - it seems like everyone gets different reactions to the mini-pill huh, I was like Taurean didn't get anything until i weaned T and went on normal pill (even my first and only AF was all of 1 day -weird!) I reckon a trip to Dr is a good idea, especially when you are BFing as you need to keep your iron up and bleeding can run you dry. Goodluck - hope they can switch you to something better. Sometimes I miss BFing and am a wee bit jealous nearly all you girls are still going :)

AM - thanks, I think I will get a vapouriser then, better than sitting in the bathroom for an hour! Yeah flick me the recipe on FB? Tadhg is into his fish fingers and kumara, so hopefully he will like it. We haven't tried citrus yet - must do that. Daycare started giving T some lunch on a spoon and he seems to be ok with it - but not a huge fan. He had his first tinned baby food this week - weird! As long as he is happy and they're not forcing it in - i don't really mind. Some more FB photos would be good, see how big the wee chap has gotten :)

Art - isn't it nice to read someone elses update and think - 'oh thank god its not just us' ditto on the night waking, do you think A is teething? Thats definitely our problem. Hope they come through quickly! Walking holding your hands is def a trick! I try and get T to do that but he's pretty random with his foot placement and has no idea what to do haha - although he will stand for a while at the coffee table or a toy - i dont trust him to know how to balance or that he has to hold on! People will pay for postage on trademe - you might be suprised - mind you then you have to go to the post office which is crap. Isn't it funny how these babies are into bikkies before anything else - typical!

Taurean - oh jealous of the cleaner, i may talk to DH about that one! Sounds like the ticket to a much happier you - i know what you mean about that underlying stress. We just never seem to prioritise it, so some things go undone a bit too long. All a bit easy when you have a new house - but eventually that new shine is going to wear off and I'll be left with a sticky dusty mess lol. That Nemo mural is cool huh, strange what some people do! I'll be interested to hear how you incorporate it into the new house :) Poor you guys with the bugs and teeth too. I feel your pain -literally! Hope it passes soon so we can all get some sleep.

Sangie - hope E is going ok? We have a bath trick - after we're done, we stand T up in the bath still and say 'do a pee' and ... he does it! nearly every time - i think its a timing thing, as you say - but saves us washing towels so much lol.

Hope everyone else is tracking well too - too right about these 8-9mth olds being hard work!
Last night was the first time i wondered if we really should consider another baby - or if one was enough! I have been spoilt with a good sleeper, but this month its just been really average thanks to bugs and now teeth. T was inconsolable last night, he got a bit better with a cuddle and then could just start crying again, after half an hour i sent DH downstairs to the guest room and took T to bed - still woke up a lot, but way closer to reach over for a dummy or a cuddle. He woke at 6:30 and by about 7:15 was back in his cot and slept 3 hours! haha - typical, why can't he sleep when i'm sleeping? At least he got some though. So he didn't go to daycare until 10:30am - nice short day for him and he actually slept at daycare, soo tired. I'm going to make myself go to bed early tonight 9pm is bedtime! Tomorrow I'm going to swimming (we have missed 3/4 of the recent ones so i need to catch up!) and then to visit my new "niece" Ayesha. She is 1 week old and so precious!
Wishing all babies and mummies a good nights sleep xx

ps. we have 2 teeth - just. I can see the tops and feel their sharp little edges. Please let the breaking through the gums be the worst bit! I can't wait to see a toothy grin :D

Well we have joined the ranks of crapville in the sleeping department. I've had barely any sleep the last 2 nights. Ethan has been waking up every couple of hours and then taking ages to settle again. So I'm one very tired mummy. Luckily Elena hasn't been disturbed, that child could sleep through a bomb I reckon haha!

Sanchez, I'd go to the docs hun. The minpill doesn't seem to agree with everyone (me included!). How is V going now, is the constipation all a distant memory?

Taurean, yay on the housecleaner. I've often thought of having one (today included!). But I reckon I'd be one of those people who 'cleans up for the cleaner lol'. So it probably wouldn't be worth it. Have those teeth popped through yet? Yes Ellie loved loved loved her birthday, she's still talking about it! Thank god Iz didn't hurt herself on the heater, must have given her quite a shock though!

AM, the orthotics appointment went well and they are really happy with his progress. His head feels really lumpy now, kind of funny! It's all the little skull bones starting to pop out! You must be so thrilled that the carpet is finally going in!

Kelly, that is a neat trick (the pee in the bath lol!). How is the sleeping going? It sounds like a few of us are having a hard time with it at the moment, sucks hey? Aaaawww on little Ayesha, that might make you clucky again ;) Hope those teeth come through without a problem :pray:

Art, I'd say A definitely has some cool tricks! Ethan walks when you hold his hands too and then suddenly stops and starts jumping! He's such a jack in the box! Sorry I can't remember but is A crawling? Yes Elena bum shuffled and so did I apparently so its probably not surprising that Ethan does too. He does attempt to crawl though but usually gets frustrated because he hasn't worked it out yet and then resorts to bum shuffling or rolling to get to where he wants to go.

Well sorry if I missed anyone but this bleary eyed mum needs to get some sleep in case the little monster wakes up again tonight. I swear I feel like I have a newborn again (which just reinforces that I don't want a newborn hehe!). Praying for a good night for us all!

Hello everyone. Hope some of you are getting sleep because it doesn't seem to be a priority around here!

Sanchez, after all my doom and gloom about the winter coldness, it seems that we must be having a wet winter rather than a cold one because it hasn't really been cold yet. Hope you guys have fun on your trip.

Sangie, lol, when DS was about this age I so wanted another baby, this time there has not been a single thought in that direction - I want some frigging sleep!

A's little personality is really coming out lately. I don't know if she will be a troublemaker herself, but she is already the enabler - sits there grinning and laughing if DS is doing something loud and naughty! DH has been playing the guitar for her which she loves and she seems to get bored very easily around the house (like DH) and will grizzle but if I start packing the bag to go out she will suddenly get happy and then spends the car trip squealing and smiling.

Sleep seems to be a thing of the past. With her waking 4-6 times and DS 1-2 times every night it is turning to chaos. Neither will settle for DH so it is me all the time. DS keeps coming in when I am feeding A so he waits at the end of the bed for 10-15 minutes while I am getting her back to sleep and by the time I get to him he is too awake to go back to sleep. It all goes downhill and we end up having both up for the day at around 3am.

Hi Girls

Art - woah, I thought we were having a rough trot with nights but ours sound like a walk in the park compared to what you're going through! Far out, how are you coping?! Izzy is having one or two good nights a week (ie she'll sleep through to between 5.30 or 7am) but the others have been crapolo! In saying that, I'm only up once or twice a night and a quick feed or a bit of bum patting in the cot and she's back to sleep. Amelia sounds so damn cute though (although nocturnal!) and her personality sounds adorable. Izzy loves to get out of the house too. She's so much happier if we're out and about or just outside. She LOVES being outside.

Sangie - Obviously this sleep regression is an age thing - they all seem to be going backwards, don't they! As for Elena, was she always a good sleeper? I really, really hope that Izzy is a good sleeper again by the time we have our second baby. I don't know how I'd cope getting up to two all night (Art, once again, hats off to you!)

Kelly - the cleaner is fabulous! Great investment, I'm so happy! Our last house was brand new so I know what you mean about them being clean - it was SO much cleaner than our current house and I did half the cleaning that me and our cleaner do now! In WA, all houses are double brick, so we're hoping to somehow keep one of the Nemo characters from the wall and place it strategically in the backyard, like a rock you can move around I guess. It's such a random wall but it's so good as well. I have no idea why you'd put that in your lounge/dinning though!

Hi everyone else!!!

AFU - we're going well excpet for the crappy nights! They aren't that bad really, just one or two wakeups a night, but as we had such a good 12 hour sleeper for so long, it's still a shock. I desperately want my good sleeper back!! I think teeth are partly to blame but Izzy is also practicing crawling and standing in her sleep so she wakes up all confused and freaked out as she's either crawling around her cot or standing up and doesn't know why or how she got there! I thought she did enough practicing during the day that surely she'd sleep well at night but apparently not :rolleyes:

Izzy has stopped saying 'mum' and has gone back to blubbering and blowing raspberries. I hope it's normal. She's saying 'bub' quite a bit so I guess she just got bored saying 'mum' over and over. She hasn't said 'dad' yet, much to DH's disgust. LOL.

Izzy is quite determined which is great but also a bit frustrating at times. She often cracks it when she doesn't get her way and it's already getting a bit embarassing! We have special orthodontic toys to occupy the kids while we massage them at Gymbaroo and when I take Izzy's away so she'll focus on the next activity, she goes mental at me! It's quite funny but I worry a bit as the tanties have started so early!

We went to a friend's 30th in the city last weekend and had a great night. My parents watched Izzy for us so we could have a child free night and boy was it nice. It was only a small group of us and we went to a couple of fantastic new wine bars in the city. Such a great night. We are out again this Saturday night as we have a 40th (:o we are getting old!) which is fancy dress. There is no theme so we decided to go as two of DH's favourite things - vegemite and beer. DH is wearing a huge Vegemite jar and I'm going as a beer can - classic. My mum is really arty and had actually made a beer can outfit for herself many, MANY years ago so she's making my beer can. It's bloody hilarious! Will post some photos on FB next week.

Well our dinner is finally ready so it's time I ate! Night girls. Sending sleepy vibes!!!

Hi all,
It is reassuring to know we're not the only ones with sleeping issues - but also a little depressing to think you might have to go through this for any future babies too!
Sangie - i was clucky for the first 5 months of Tadhg's life, then it got harder and I started to see why people leave bigger gaps lol, Still lovely to see a new baby though, and recall all those 'firsts'. My cousins and I are going to catch up fortnightly with our babies to make sure we see each other, now just to coordinate a 14mth old, 9 mth old and newborn! So nice to know there is hope of coming out the other side - please can i have a good sleeper like Elena ;-) Our sleeping is still really crap - well actually the sleeping is fine, its the cough and cold that have dragged on for weeks causing the issues.

Art - you poor thing with the sleeping and settling, so tiring! My DH always used to say 'but he likes you - he doesn't like me' when T cried haha, which was true for a while - but now I think we have just got to the point where T is happy with either of us, which is so nice - lets see how long it lasts :) Truely hope you get some sleep soon x Cute how A likes getting out of the house. T is happy when we are out and busy, but I rarely seem to find the time to organise myself to get out! I don't know how you girls do it. I feel like we are constantly sleeping, changing, feeding etc and then its nearly time to start again so just play for a while.
Taurean - oh that 30th sounds great. I am turning 30 in Nov, so trying to think of something to do myself. Perth maybe?? haha just kidding, but wine bars - definitely. We actually went out to a wine bar on the weekend too - but it was in the afternoon and T came with us. Was funny having him sitting there eating the bread and cheese off our platter and eyeing up the wine glasses, he seemed to enjoy it and I felt much better for having done something normal (with friends no less). It's all relative with the sleeping thing huh - when you've had it good it suddenly seems much worse when they start waking again than if they never slept through. I have nights where I'm so over it, and then nights when I just keep on going.
Right now our nights are - bedtime @ 7-7:30, wake a couple of times for a cough but back to sleep quickly with a dummy, then start coughing fits @ 11pm on and off about every 20mins until we get him out of the cot at 1am and give back rubs, water and some pamol, he is so tired that he gets more upset by being up and not being able to sleep than anything else, by 1:30 he's asleep, wake once coughing about 3:30am -quick dummy run and he is asleep until about 5am when coughing starts again probably every 30-40mins until we get up at 7am. So it definitely could be worse - but its not fun. Feel so sorry for T not being able to breathe and coughing away. The dummy addiction is good for settling, but its hard work sucking a dummy when you cant breathe in your nose! Thus why it keeps falling out and he cries out. Hoping the cough clears up really soon!

How many teeth have your bubs got? I love T's little tooth buds, and look forward to seeing them rise up properly soon.
We are off to the In laws for a long weekend tomorrow -hope they don't want to sleep - lol. Should be good.
Sleep well little babies xx

ps. Tadhg is so much better at daycare now - whether its being 9 mths old, or 1 month into it - he is now happily playing, not disturbed by others crying, and actually going to sleep when they put him down - albeit not for long. Hope that makes others feel positive about plans for daycare too :)

Morning all

Okay like Taurean I am definitely going to stop complaining about our night waking. Art you poor thing I don't know how you are coping. Up for the day at 3am! And with 2 to look after its not as though you can actually lie down and have a rest during the day. I really hope it gets better for you very soon. We had been waking twice a night for the last number few weeks which I was finding tiring. By saying that he was waking more but on those times he would give a few little cries and then go back to sleep so while we wake but don't actually have to get up to him. The other two times I was having to feed him. I've probably never been really good at resettling by patting or rocking so will both have to learn how to do this and make it work. We did have a first the night before last though which I was very very very excited about. He slept through for the very first time. Yes 7.00pm to 6.30am! I was keeping my fingers crossed that we had made a major breakthrough and he would do the same again last night but it didn't happen though he did only wake once and went back to sleep after a feed.

Kelly thats not good with poor Ts cold. It really has been lingering on for a while now. Did you end up getting the humidifier/vapouriser? Has it done any good? Have you tried having the cot slighly elevated at one end - sorry sure you have already tried everything. We were lucky when Sam had his cough he seemed to be able to sleep through it though his nose was clear so he didn't have the breathing issue and he also doesn't have a dummy. Can't think of anything else to suggest that might work love. I know what you mean about somedays feeling as though all you seem to do is feed, change, sleep. We do really try to make sure we go out each day as I would suffer from cabin fever if we didn't. Even if it is only for a walk. Has been a touch difficult recently with the crappy weather we have had here in Sydney. We have activities on 3 of the days and I catch up with friends on another day so only have 1 unfilled day so to speak. I do try however to schedule the outings around sleep so that he is doing his morning and afternoon naps in his cot. I just feel that he will sleep better there rather than in his stroller. Exception to this is if we have a longer car journey to do then we'll leave and he has this sleep in the car. I've about a hours drive to one of my girlfriends who has just had a baby so that works out well for when we go to visit. Poor thing her witching hour seems to be lasting about 6 hours a day at the moment so I guess that is one of the part of very young baby we don't miss.

Taurean looking forward to seeing the photos on FB of you as a beer can. How clever is your Mum to be able to make it for you. Izzy certainly seems to keeping you on your toes. Practising all her new tricks in her sleep. Sam is moving round the cot now bigtime. He often ends up sleeping on his tummy 180 degrees round from the way he was put in. In the begining it seemed to bother him but not any more.

Sangie how are things in your household. You'll have to tell us what you did with Elena to make her such a good sleeper and we can learn from you. Good to hear that the helmet seems to doing the trick with Ethan. How is the sleeping at your end now?

Sanchez not sure if you are on hols yet or not. Is so hope youre having fun. Hope all is good with you and the lovely V.

Well AFU house is slowly getting back into order. Carpets are down and everything back in place. Everything looked so nice and neat for a few days before the mess started to reappear. We are really pleased with the colours we choose. There is always the risk that what looks really nice in the small piece of carpet wont be as nice when it covers the entire floor. We have just purchased baby gates and put them up which is stressing the poor dog out no end (no idea why but he doesn't like them). Sam isn't crawling yet but wanted to be ready for when he does as from the sound of it when they take off they take off. How is everyone else doing in the crawling department? I know Izzy is on the move but anyone else? He is making some progress but not getting up on his hands and knees or anything like that yet. Guess he will do it when he is ready. I do encourage him but getting him to do tummy time but he is definitely happier sitting and playing with his toys.

Like i mentioned earlier we have a few activities that we do and the newest one is swimming. We go to the fab little place where we sing songs, go underwater, splash and generally have lots of fun. You should see the poor little fellas face when he comes up from being underwater - too funny - like WHAT has just happened there?

Sam has just started to make a new noise over the last few days where he rubs/flaps his hand over his mouth as he is gurgling. Sort of the same as what we would do using our fingers. Cute. Still no sigh of mama being said but working hard on dada a lot of the time.

Okay off to have shower while he is still asleep. Kisses to bubs and speak soon.

NW3, great that your carpet is finally in! I know its so hard choosing colours from a tiny sample isn't it? We had the same problem when we renovated. Thank goodness it all looks nice. Ethan isn't crawling either but does get around by creeping like a caterpillar lol! He also rolls and bum shuffles a little to get around. He is trying to pull himself on furniture and was successful yesterday. I left the room for 1 minute and came back to find him standing up leaning on his little pooh bear learning table with a huge grin on his face!

Art, you poor chook do you manage to get any rest during the day? Does DS have a day sleep? Elena has dropped hers but I'm enforcing some 'quiet' time after lunch for my sanity lol! I know I couldn't be less clucky lol!

Kelly, bummer that the cold is still sticking around. I don't know what to suggest hun but sending some 'get well' vibes so that hopefully T will sleep much better. Great that he has adjusted so well to daycare, that must be a load off your shoulders. How are you finding being back at work? E still doesn't have any teeth!

Taurean, yes DD has always been a great sleeper. Of course she had her off weeks when teething/sick etc but overall she was a much better sleeper than Ethan is. I remember when she was 8 months (as I went back to work 2 days a week) she was sleeping 12 hours overnight plus two day naps of 1.5hrs each. If only her brother did the same lol! I'm looking forward to seeing the beer can pics, how hilarious!

We don't go out everyday but I don't like to spend more than 2 days in a row at home or else I get cabin fever. We have activities on two days (Mon and Fri) plus I usually do the grocery shopping on another day and might meet a friend for coffee etc on another day or have a playdate. But I find if I'm out too much then I get really behind on the housework and then we end up having to do it on the weekends (which I hate doing!).

Sleep here has improved the last couple of nights so fingers crossed it continues. He only woke once both nights and then after a quick cuddle he went back to sleep. What do all your bubs sleep in overnight? I borrowed a grobag from a friend and that is what E slept in the last couple of nights with a much better outcome. I'm going to have to give it back to her though so thinking I might have to bite the bullet and buy some (or something similar). I was looking at dream bags which looks similar but a lot cheaper, does anyone have these? Anyways better be off. I'm hoping E will go down for a sleep soon so I can jump in the shower. Have a great day all xo

Sangie - we use both Grobags and Dream Bags and I think they are as good as each other. I only discovered Dream Bags recently and at half the price of Grobags, they are good value! I always buy the Grobags that are on sale (I buy them from the Bambini Pronto website) so I usually pay about $60 a bag (instead of $80+!!) but the Dream Bags are only about $45 and they are super cute and beautifully made. Highly recommend them!!

Thanks Taurean, good to hear they are good quality. I can get two dream bags for the same price as one grobag so I think that's what I'll do. And yes, they have some super cute designs, I want the jungle animals!

Hi Sangie - I've also used sleeping bags from Living Textiles (though these were the summer tog ones) and have two from Pumpkin Patch both of which I am very happy with. Got one called Uh Oh PJs last week which was 2.5tog which I am happy with. I love the designs with Dream Babys though. Soo cute! I could never justify paying the full price for the Grobags.

Just a quickie from me - where did everyone get their amber teething necklaces from? No teeth yet, but I can see the 6 top ones all sitting in her gums and I can imagine some horror week of a zillion teeth!

Been a bit quiet lately, sleep here is total crap so I am attempting to cut the night feeds to stop the frequent wakings. So far so good, she has been happy to be cuddled instead of fed the last couple of nights until early morning when she insists on a feed but that is alright because I think she is genuinely hungry.

Hi everyone. Haven't had time to go over everything I've missed but I had, some time ago, said I was coming in to do personals.... I think that was about 4 weeks ago! My apologies! I am super busy with school at the moment and am taking a break from writing report cards as we speak. Hate this time of the term but, as a positive, only 2 weeks until school holidays!!! Yippee.

Am loving being back at work (minus the reports atm) and really enjoying the time I spend with Frazer and DH and as a family we are going well. DH is loving being a SAHD for 2 days a week and Frazer is slipping into a routine pretty well. Nothing much else to report baby-wise. Frazer is going through a bit of a clingy stage atm which is strange for him as he'll usually go to anyone. He is sleeping well and feeding well, and still loving his food at 12kgs and is giving my back a work out that's for sure.

Will try and catch up if I can but am just letting you know I am still here and will probably try to get on more often when I have some more time on my hands! Hope all Mums and bubs are well ox

Art, I got E's necklace from Belly Beyond (kelly's recommendation). Best of luck with the night weaning, I hope it all works out so you can get some more shut eye.

NWS, thank for that! I ended up buying two dream bags and they have already arrived. I know grobags are expensive which I'm surprised about given how much competition there is for them now. I guess its not so bad if you can get them on special though.

Pooley, sounds like you are super busy. E is quite a clingy boy too at times which can drive me a bit crazy. Sometimes he'll cry even if it just looks like I might leave the room!

Well we finally have a tooth! So I guess that explains the cranky behaviour last week (well I'd like to think so anyway lol!) E has also figured out how to pull himself up (scary!).

Gotta go, both kiddies just woke, have a great day! :D

Evening all

Hope all is well with everyone that that the little poorly bubs amongst us are better soon. I guess because winter has well and truely arrived now it will be one little thing after another. Sam has a touch of a cold but is pretty much okay with it at the moment. Poor little thing chucked up his lunch big time today so just keeping an eye on him to make sure nothing is starting.

Kelly - can't believe poor little Tadhg is sick again. Poor little man has been through the ringer over the last few weeks. Is he picking stuff up at day care or is it just the winter? We were only saying at MG the other day that our little ones are swopping germs big time with eachother now as they're all taking toys off eachother and everyone single one puts the new toy straight into the mouth. Hopefully it will build up a whole heap of immunity. How are you going with working when he is sick? Must be tough on you both.

Taurean - hope Izzy's drugs work at getting rid of all her little bugs - especially the ear infection. They can be fairly common from what I've been told.

Sangie congrats on the tooth and hope it does explain the behaviour. Sam's third little peggie broke through this afternoon. I was expecting that it would come through any day as I had been able to see them in the gums for about a week. So far I've been pretty lucky when they've come through he has been a bit clingy but hasn't got too cranky with them. OOohh pulling himself up - now the fun will begin. Has everything been baby proofed yet? How have you been going with the Dream Bags has the sleeping improved?

Art I'll get Sam to have a quiet word regarding the teeth so all 6 can come through without any problems. I don't know which would be worse coming through one by one or all together. How is the night weaning going? Don't really have any advice for you on what to do. Sam seems to have finally started to really sleep though - prior to going away I was waking him at 10.30pm for feed and he was then sleeping through until about 7/7.30am but that all went to poo when we were away and he was waking at least twice a night when we got back. I couldn't work out what I should do to stop and was finding it all very tiring when all of a sudden he just seemed to stop waking at all - sleeping from 7 to 7 basically. Not doing it every night yet but most. So for us it just appears to have happened rather than me actually doing something to cause it.

Pooley - 12kgs - wow Sam is a little lightweight in comparison. I haven't had him weighed recently but he probably is only just hitting 8.5kg! Glad to hear you are enjoying being back and work so much and it all seems to be working out for you.

Well nothing much else to relate from here. Winter has truely arrived and is getting cold. I dread to think what the electricity bill will be like as normally I'd have been out at work but now heating is on the whole time. We've also go air con in Sam's room so that's on over night and quite a bit during the day too. We seem to be getting into a reasonable routine. Though the time he will sleep for will vary - some mornings he will only do 40 mintues and others will do 2 hours. I just go with the flow though will try to resettle if he only has a short sleep in the afternoon following a short sleep in the morning. Still no crawling but if starting to get up on all fours and rock back and forward so I am sure its not toooo far away. Ahhhh..................

Have a great long weekend for those you that have it. Funny how its not as important now that we are not working and having an actual "day off".

Xx

Hi Girls

AM - poor Sam throwing up his lunch. Was he OK last night? Izzy threw up part way through her dinner last night but I think the coughing brought it on. So the little man in rocking on all fours, it won't be long now! Prepare yourself cause once they work out how to crawl they just don't want to stop!! It's so cute though and very satisfying for them.

Sangie - yay for E's first tooth AND pulling himself up! It is scary, isn't it! They seem to grow up so quickly once the pulling up and crawling starts. I feel like my baby changed A LOT when all that started. How's E's helmet going?

Pooley - crikey, F is a whopper! He's always been a good grower though, hasn't he. I bet your arms a nicely toned ;) . I could do with a heavier baby to help with the nice 'curtains' I have hanging from my upper arms, LOL. Sounds like returning to work has really agreed with you guys too which is great to hear.

Art - are you still alive?? Had to ask with all that lack of sleep I thought you might have gone into hybernation for a while! You are a champion, I don't know how you do it but I guess you don't have much choice - one of the joys (???) of motherhood. How are your two rug-rats going?

Sanchez - for memory you're on hols in NZ so it will be nice to hear from you when you get back hon.

Hi everyone else!

AFU - both Izzy and I are sick. I've had a headcold for two weeks which is finally starting to ease up but I now have a really annoying, tickly cough which turns out to be asthma (I don't have asthmas normally) so I'm now on Ventolin. Izzy has a cough too and a runny nose, a fever and an ear infection! She's been quite the little trooper given how sick she is! The cough and runny nose were her only symptoms otherwise she's been really good so I was quite surprised when the doctor said she had a fever and an ear infection last night. She's on antibiotics now and panadol every 4 hours but we can't do much for her cough except keep an eye on it incase it turns into bronchial something-or-other (Pooley, may have been what F had a while back).

Sleep is a bit up and down but we've been blessed with 4 full nights sleep in the past week and some really good day sleeps so I'm not complaining. I'm like you AM, just going with the flow now. Each day is different!

No more teeth for us yet so we only have the bottom front two but I can see a few sitting very close to the surface so they won't be far off.

Crawling and standing is full on but so nice for Izzy. She is even more independent now and she loves it. She is super busy though and into everything (very much the explorer) so I need eyes in the back of my head to keep an eye on her! Besides the heater incident the other week, she hasn't had any other nasty close calls thankfully. She's obsessed with our amp/stereo though and loves to turn the two dials so randomly the TV will flick to DVD mode or the volume will increases dramatically and you know that Miss Iz is at it again! She thinks it's a great joke though and just flashes a big grin at us and cracks up laughing. It's so hard to discipline them when they're so cute, hey!!

Solids are going well although finger food still freaks me out. We try different finger foods each day but I hate the choking incidents! I know they recover from them well as their gag reflex is so strong but they're awful! Izzy is doing better with finger food though and she destroys a Cruskit in no time at all! I've just finished cooking up another months worth of food for our little Miss and she's going to be trying her first curry today! I have a great baby/childrens cookbook I got from the book club at work while I was pregnant which has a lot of great ideas in it. Izzy's pretty happy to give anything a go and so far has eaten everything we've tried (including home made spinach dhal!) so I'm hoping that lasts.

Gotta run. Izzy's breathing has gotten quite raspy so we're going to take her back to the doctors. Hopefully she is ok. She's happy enough but the breathing sounds dodgy. Back later

Hi ladies and bubs!

How are you all? OMG it's freezing here and we've been battered with high winds, rain, hail. I'm so over winter already :shakehead:

Taurean, how is Izzy now? Is she feeling better? How about you hun? Yes they seem so grown up now don't they? Sometimes I look at Ethan and wonder where my teeny tiny baby went! Keep persisting with the finger food, Iz will get there! Ethan latest favourite is lamb chops (screams when I take it off him). He much prefers finger foods and rarely chokes now (only when he tries to put too much in his mouth). This kid thinks he can put half a piece of toast in his mouth at once, hilarious but kind of scary!

Art, how is the night weaning going? Fingers crossed its all working out for you. Did you end up ordering a teething necklace? Ethan has been wearing his for a while now and to be honest I'm not sure its doing a lot for him, he was still grumpy/irritable when his tooth cut. I guess I could take it off and see if there is any difference.

AM, yay on tooth number 3! Yes the dream bags are great and E has been sleeping so well since we got them. Plus they are so cute lol! Sounds like Sam will be on the move in no time. No we haven't fully baby proofed yet so I'd better get onto it quick sticks!

Aaarrggghhhhh Ethan is awake after only 30min sleep, keep your fingers crossed I can get him back down! Bye for now................

Sangie, the night weaning went really well. She is now just waking around midnight to come into bed with us and then around 5ish for a feed. I haven't got the teething necklace yet but she still doesn't have any signs of teeth - is A the only gummy left now? Bummer about the 30 minute nap - welcome to my world! A has two 20 minute naps a day. It is really no time to do anything.

Taurean, Izzy sounds like a fun little character! A is still happy just sitting doing her own thing.

Still no tricks here, although she has started to stand when she is sitting on my lap and can stay up for a second or two now.

Sorry for everyone I missed, I did the quick reply and can't see the previous posts.

Hi all

Just a quickie to say hello to everyone as has been a little while. Hope all is good with everyone.

Well done Art on the success of the night weaning. You must be so pleased after the nightmare that you had been going through. The picture of the two of them up at 3am was so funny - they were like awake but not really awake at the same time. We're not quite at 100% sleeping through yet though he does more nights than most. It seem like he is waking for hunger though as if he has been a bit fussy with eating he is more likely to wake than if he eats well. Sounds cute that she will stand when sitting on your lap. Sam is continuing his standing obsession - its no wonder the boy isn't crawling - why bother when there is soooo much more so see from the standing position.

Sangie that is great news about Ethan liking the sleeping bags so much. Totally with you in relation to being over the winter. Even though I've been here for 14 years now I still get shocked each year when winter starts. In Sydney they just don't make houses able to cope with colder weather which is silly as even if the days aren't that cold the nights are for quite a good few months. We had several weeks of rain rain and more rain and you just feel like you are going crazy indoors. What sort of finger foods are you giving to Ethan. I am still cooking for Sam but trying to introduce finger foods. He will eat cruskits and little cream cheese sandwiches okay but wouldn't eat pieces of banana or pear or carrots. He took a piece of chicken last weekend but didn't know what to do with it and basically I think waited for it to disolve in his mouth. Any other suggestions of what I could try? And what size pieces do you give him.

Hey Taurean hows your little Houdini going? You will need eyes in the back and sides of your head with this one I think. I can just picture her grinning away looking proud as punch with herself. Sam hasn't managed to escape out of anything yet but doesn't seem to buy into sitting facing forward in either his high chair or bath seat. Much more fun to sit sideways or just hang over the side. Is she (and you too) better now. You poor thing sounds like both of you were through the ringer there for a while. The ear infections must be the worst thing to try and identify at least with a cold its obvious what they have. Sounds like solids is going gang busters for her. How much is she eating these days. Sam is okay but not sure as to how much a 9 month old should be eating. He is having about 4 maybe 5 cubes of "main" which will either be meat and veg or veg and fruit and then "desert" which will either be apple custard or else yogurt. Some meals he'll eat more some less but guess as adults we do that too.

Don't think there is anything too much new to report on our end. Sam is getting a bit more mobile but still not properly crawling yet. If he wants something he will kindof launch himself towards it and then try to propel himself towards it. He also seems to like trying to crawl up me to pull at my hair, earings or anypart of my face - funny but Im not quite so keen on this as he is. 4th tooth has now come through so we had two in as many days at the weekend! Don't know if we get a little break now before no 5 comes through or not. As mentioned before sleeping through is not too bad at the moment. He has been a bit more difficult to settle though in the evenings and can't quite work out whats causing this - its almost like he is still hungry though he comes on and off the boob when having that evening feed. Don't know if supply has been effected somewhat by him dropping the two night feeds that he had been taking previously. I am slowly starting to wean so his mid morning milk is now bottle and will switch afternoon milk to bottle next week. Have real mixed feelings about weaning ánd still can't believe I've made to 9 months when I look back to the horror story that was the begining. Think I'll try to keep the morning and evening ones for a while longer.

Off to the rugby at the weekend (rugby union). My DH is futilely trying to insist that Sam will be supporting England like him but I've told him nah he has a little Aussie boy. One of the girls in my Mothers Group is going to look after Sam for us. Feel a little bit nervous as the stadium is about hour + drive from our house. Is okay just going down the road when we can be home in 5-10 minutes but least I know she'll know what to do and anyway he'll probably just sleep. We are going to put together a baby sitting syndicate from the Mothers Group. Quite a lot of us don't have family here in Sydney so makes it more difficult for babysitting. This way we can all help eachother out even if it is just to get out to go to the movies. It works on some sort of credit system don't know the details yet but one of the girls has looked into it and will let us know what we need to do. (Kelly and Art not even going to talk about the hiding your boys gave Ireland at the weekend)

Kelly - how are things with you? How is little T. Still under the weather. Hope things are okay. It must be hard to try to keep routine when a little bub is sick. Has T been able to wear his little AB boots yet?

Sanchez - hi to you and V. Looking forward to hearing all the news when you get back from hols.

Okay thats it from me for now. Night night all and sorry if I've missed anyone/anything important.

Cuddles all round Xx

Hello!
AM - reading your post Sam sounds a lot like Tadhg, always wanting to stand up and no interest in crawling at all - i swear he's just going to start walking one day soon! He also loves to pull himself up on me, and I'm constantly having to pull my top back up lol. I wouldn't worry too much about volume of solids Sam is getting, Tadhg has barely eaten any solids in the past 3 weeks (presuming its to do with being sick) and he still doesn't wake up in the night from hunger - so i think they are pretty hardy really. Have you tried giving Sam raisins, its so fun learning to pick them up and get them in. But I'd recommend giving one at a time so he doesnt stuff a whole bunch in there to start with :) Peas are also good. I have started grating cheese for T, and he likes that. We are nearly better!! Can you believe it. I just looked back and realised T has been at daycare 9 weeks now - and has been sick a lot of that time, no wonder it feels so long - it has been! I'm just pleased he is reasonably happy whilst sick, at least during the day! Last night he only woke a few times coughing, and I only needed to get up once at 12:30 - then he was ok until 6:30. So that was good! The night before he woke at 2am to practice saying 'baba-baba-baba' for some reason, quite funny but annoying when you are dead tired at 2am! Booties are all ready to go for Saturday night - they are going to be great, as its so hard to find warm socks! I just got some long merino ones online, but at almost $12 a pair they better be good! Don't move to NZ will you love, if Sydney is too cold for you .. you might go into hibernation here, lol. That being said today is lovely - once T man wakes i'm going walking!

Art - i reckon A might be the only gummy one, so funny how we have all these guidelines about when babies do things, and they are all so different arent they. I reckon we got off easy having bubba's who are happy to sit and not teething early - i don't know what i'd do if T didn't stay where i put him! Great news on the night weaning working out. Are you happy with A cosleeping, or will you try and get her back into her cot? There was an article on tv last week about the amber necklaces apparently, saying they are useless and choking hazard etc - interesting, but so many people disagreeing and saying they are the best thing ever. Don't know if i'd bother buying one - I was given ours, and havnt used it yet - but we're not in full swing of teething, so i might change my mind!
Sangie - lamb chops! flash :) Does he eat the meat, or just suck the flavour off? I might try that once T is eating a bit more consistently again, hopefully soon! Does E eat many veges? I worry sometimes at the lack of veges T is eating, I'll keep trying but he refuses to eat off a spoon and will only pick up what he chooses - so most veges don't get much more than a quick suck it seems. Peas and Kumara are good... not much else.

Taurean - miss Izz is such a tricky little thing, reminds me of myself as a baby (from mum's stories) into absolutely everything and moves so quick you have to constantly watch - so fun but so much work! Hope you're loving every minute :) Man these sick babies :( So not fun huh... My friend just told me croup, tonsilitis and chicken pox are going thru the local primary school - holy crap, the next lot of bugs are already lining up to knock on our door! Boo hoo. I hope Izzy's ear's clear up soon. Our Dr said T has glue ear, which usually resolves within about 4 weeks of an infection, but if not then we may need grommets or drilling the ear drum - which sounds horrible. Going back to the Dr (again!) in a few weeks.

Hope everyone else is faring well and staying as clear of bugs as possible! Sanchez - hope that rain has cleared and you are getting to enjoy some of NZ!

We are doing ok now T is getting a bit better, although he stayed home from daycare all but 1 day this week, which is hard work when you're working too. Day sleeps are a bit all over the place - but i think we are just moving the afternoon sleep a bit later. Which is great - gives me a few good hours in the middle of the day to get out. He is now sleeping about 9-11 and 2:30-4 or so, at least i think thats the new pattern! We are still swaddling, as he just wont sleep at all unwrapped - we really need to go through a few hard nights of learning to sleep unwrapped, which i've been hesitant to do while he is sick. Maybe next week! He is nearly 10 months old after all (on Wednesday)!
Be well babies and mummies xx

Hi Girls!

Well we are finally on the mend. Izzy still has a cough and is quite snotty (far out, have we seen some snot in the past 10 days!) but is sleeping well again and it back to her happy, mischievous self :D

Kelly - poor Tadhg has had a rough trot with illnesses! Is he getting better now? Ears can be quite a nuisance for kids, hey! I always had ear infections as a kid but escaped grommets. The antibiotics worked wonders on Izzy's...oh...and a good dose of Nurofen ;) So Tadhg is still swaddled?! He must just love being all snuggly and I don't blame him given it's winter!! That is so cute! Izzy went straight from swaddling to Grobags at 10 weeks as she kept escaping from her swaddle (now there's a surprise, not) and we never looked back. I took it all for granted, it really was quite amazing that she just wasn't fussed at all. Good luck weaning Tadhg from the swaddle. Are you going to use blankets or sleeping bags?

AM - Izzy does keep me on my toes, that's for sure! We have a massive corner of our lounge setup for her though (has her playpen and one of those foam alphabet puzzle mats next to it) with all her toys so she often plays happily in her 'corner'. She rummages through her toybox now which is gorgeous but she has a tendancy to completely empty it! She stands there picking each toy out, glancing at it for a second then hurls it over her shoulder and gets the next toy. It's hilarious to watch. As for food, Izzy was off her food while sick so she'd only eat cruskits and a bit of breakfast but she seems to have found her appetite again. She normally has 3 or 4 ice cubes for the main then a small tub of yoghurt and fruit for dessert. Breakfast is usually half a Weetbix or about 4tbsp of Rafferty's Garden cereal plus half a mashed banana. I often give her the other half of the banana as finger food. Izzy likes steamed vegie sticks (zuchinni is a good one) and LOVES roast vegies, especially carrot. She often has a whole Cruskit either plain, with a smear of Vegemite or avocado or cream cheese - all faves. Avocado slices go down well too. My MCHN suggested good lamb chops too but we haven't tried them yet. Izzy loves toast as well but she does tend to gag on it a bit and it freaks me out!

Art - Izzy has started to stand on her own too! She does a few seconds here and there then grabs whatever is close by. One of the girls in our mum's group, who is about a week older than Iz, has taken several steps which is freaky! She started crawling at 5 months though so it's no surprise really. I loved that photo of your kids at 3am too! Bloody hilarious photos although I'm sure it wasn't all that hilarious for you at 3am. Nasty! So the sleeping has improved?

Sangie - go the lamb chops!! Did you get normal lamb chops or the fancy french trimmed ones? I really want to give it a go but they scare me a bit. What if they get a massive chunk off? We had a friend choke on a piece of lamb a couple of years back which had to be surgically removed from his throat and he was 30 at the time!!! PMSL. So Ethan is loving his Dream Bags? They are goregous, aren't they. Izzy has a ladybird one and a gorgeous puple one with butterflies on it. So cute!!

Well Izzy has just cruised along the couch to get to the remote and has just turned the TV off then back on again. I think I might just buy her a remote for her 1st birthday and leave the batteries out! LOL.

We are both much better than this time last week but there is still a fair bit of snot being produced. I've washed Izzy's sheets twice this week as she'd smeared them during her sleep. Yukko! She seems happy enough though and is sleeping well again thanks to Baby Balsam - it's awesome stuff!

Izzy's latest trick (which some of you may have seen on FB) this week was wriggling out of her pram harness (when I thought she was sleeping) and standing up in her pram!! Scared the hell out of me when I lifted the canopy to find her standing up hanging onto the toy bar grinning from ear to ear! The straps have been tightened now and I *think* that will be the first and last time she'll do that, the cheeky monkey.

Would you believe I have a fabulous, consistent little day sleeper now?! She finally self settles no probs and we're getting about 3 hours of days sleeps each day, normally over two sleeps. It's bliss!! Night sleeps are pretty good really but she does need some resettling here and there. Sometimes she's having a feed at 4am but then she sleeps til 8ish so I won't complain. It has made me realise that we were very lucky with all the 12 hours nights she did earlier on though (3.5 months worth!).

We still only have 2 teeth so I don't know what the others are doing. I thought a few more would have popped up by now, especially as she got the first two at 6.5mths.

I went to the physio this week as my hip has been giving me grief, a bit like the problems I had during my pregnancy. My back is all out of whack again too so we are hoping it's all related but if not, I'll have to go for an MRI to find out what's going on. Fingers crossed it's nothing too serious but it really is quite bad and hurting while I sleep now. It's amazing what pregnancy and giving birth can do to our bodies. My physio, who specialises in pre and post natal issues, told me that the absolute worst case scenario is pregnancy induced osteoperosis so I really, REALLY hope it's not that!!

Gotta run and get all my washing off the line before it rains.

Big hugs to everyone!

NW3, hope you had fun at the rugby (the real rugby lol) and that S was a good boy for the babysitter. The babysitting syndicate sounds like a good idea.

Kelly, we are still wrapping too - I still feed/rock her to sleep and can't get her in the cot if she isn't bundled up tightly.

Taurean, yay for a good day sleeper! I hope your hip is something easily fixable - pregnancy induced oesteoporosis doesn't sound like fun! Izzy sounds like such a busy thing! A just sits or walks around holding hands but by this age DS had already been walking for a month so she seems a bit slow to me - imagine if your next bubba was only sitting at this age compared to what Iz does lol

Was someone asking about finger foods? A's favourites are raisins, mixed veges, grated cheese, avocado pieces, loves noodles!, mandarin segments, cruskits are good too.

Hi,
Just a quick one to say - Yes officially Tadhg is better! Yay. We had a great weekend as a family and although I think we did a bit much for him, as he was rather grouchy on Sunday night when his uncle and aunt were here for dinner, he has been an angel. Back to sleeping through the night, and doing 2 good day sleeps.
However, I changed his formula to S26 Gold (i'm doing a trial for them) and he now seems to have very loose bowel motions - hmm, better than the other way - and is definitely reducing the crying while pooping - so maybe its a good thing for a few days. Will see how he goes. Back to eating well now thank goodness. OK best get to work!
K

Kelly, YAY on Tadhg being better! I hope the change in formula works out ok!

Taurean, bugger about your hip. Fingers crossed its something that's easily fixable. Ethan has an obsession with the TV remote too. We have a play one (a little tikes one) that was DD's but nope, he wants the real one cheeky boy! We just give him normal lamb chops from our butcher who has really nice (non fatty) ones. Of course I watch him like a hawke but so far he's not choked or gagged at all but I do have to make sure he doesn't put too much in his mouth. Yep love the dreambags, so glad I got some. We got the jungle friends one and the fire truck, very cute!

Art, wow I can't believe your DS was walking at this age!! Have A's day sleeps got any better? Ethan is so unpredictable. Some days he's a shocker and only has two short naps and others he'll do one short and one longer sleep. I really can't predict what he'll do from day to day which can be a little frustrating for planning things :wall:

AM, I cut up finger size pieces of food. Basically so its easy for him to hold. I give him either steamed or roasted veg, spiral or penne pasta is good too. For fruit he has either banana or pear and I cook apple pieces for him too. I tried some kiwi fruit but he screwed his nose up at that one lol! For meat I give him finely shredded roast chicken or lamb/beef. Toast or cruskits are great too. I spread with either avocado or hommus. Just keep offering as it can take a few goes before they accept something. The weather is cold here so I've been cooking soup which Ethan is enjoying too (although I'm not enjoying the mess that goes with it lol!).

Ethan surprised us all over the weekend and started crawling! We really thought he'd never do it as he seems much more interested in standing and walking while holding our hands. He's definitely not a pro, in fact he's quite slow at it but I'm guessing he'll be zooming alone pretty soon judging by his progress over the last 2 days! He seems to only be using it to get to somewhere where he can pull himself up though, he still prefers being on his feet! This is all new to me as DD never crawled. :)

Hi again! You probably don't remember me, but I used to post back when I was pg with Lennox. He was born September 8th, 2009. Here's a link to his birth story.

I thought Lennox would never crawl or sit. He would push himself backwards and he could sit up if i put him in a sitting position. But for Mother's Day weekend (May 8th) he started sitting up on his own. By May 13th he was crawling. The 21st of May he started pulling himself up and by the 25th he was cruising around furniture.

He also was a gummie baby up until June 2nd when I noticed he was getting his top right front tooth. Then I noticed a couple of days later he was getting his top left front tooth and the 2 on either side of those teeth. As of last week I noticed he's getting both his bottom front teeth and the one to his left. No wonder he is so crabby lately!

My other boys are fine. Trent is learning to drive and should be able to take his road test after Lennox turns 1. He's got to have his learners permit for 6 months if he didn't he would have got his drivers license in April when he turned 16, but I didn't know and he wouldn't ask his friends about it. Ty's heart is doing fine on the meds so no pace maker yet. He turns 14 in a month. My twins Peyton and Eli can wear underwear throughout the day, but still not at night. Which is progress!

Oh going back to the pregnancy with Lennox there was a coupole things I wanted to mention. First I caught Fifth Disease from my twins who got it from someone at there school and because I never had it before I got weekly u/s's from week 32 until I had him. For normal people it causes cold/flu like symptoms and then a red rash on your cheeks and can spread to your torso. Well, for unborn babies it causes severe anemia because it attacks the bone marrow causing new red blood cells to not be made. I was lucky being in the third trimester because they could have taken him early if needed. We did have a couple of scares, but the next weeks u/s's of his blood flow were fine.


The second thing I wanted to say was when we had the first scare (July 27th, 2009) with Lennox being severely anemic and praying he'd be ok. The next day, July 28th (Ty's 13th birthday), I got a call from one of my brothers that our mom passed away on the 27th. She just turned 59 the day before on the 26th. July was not such a great month, but I did get some 3d 4d images of Lennox out of it. PS if you click on the birth story link you can see one of the 4d images. It's my avatar on that site.

I think that's enough for now. lol Thanks for reading!