September 2014 Babies Club

comongethappy

My rant for the day... People who put normal shopping trolleys in the baby trolley spots. Twice it has happened in Lidl and Aldi, last time was yesterday in the freezing cold, poor AJ got very upset! The chain you stick in for your money return is shorter on the normal trolleys than the baby ones. I had to get another coin out to move the normal trolley out of the way so I could return mine, then walk around and put the lazy feckers normal one back to get my 2 euro back. And aldi in arklow has curbs around the trolley area except at the door entrance, and there is only a narrow walkway where they store the baby trolleys, so I had to juggle two trolleys and his car seat. Grrr.

However, I did get my food processor and the hauck stroller. I still love my Phil and Teds, but I wanted something compact enough to keep in the car for trips to the shopping centre or unplanned pop outs. For 30 you can't go wrong!

madeinamerica

comongethappy wrote: »

My rant for the day... People who put normal shopping trolleys in the baby trolley spots. Twice it has happened in Lidl and Aldi, last time was yesterday in the freezing cold, poor AJ got very upset! The chain you stick in for your money return is shorter on the normal trolleys than the baby ones. I had to get another coin out to move the normal trolley out of the way so I could return mine, then walk around and put the lazy feckers normal one back to get my 2 euro back. And aldi in arklow has curbs around the trolley area except at the door entrance, and there is only a narrow walkway where they store the baby trolleys, so I had to juggle two trolleys and his car seat. Grrr.

However, I did get my food processor and the hauck stroller. I still love my Phil and Teds, but I wanted something compact enough to keep in the car for trips to the shopping centre or unplanned pop outs. For 30 you can't go wrong!

God that is annoying!

30 euro for a compact stroller? Nice. There's an aldi here, I never thought to check it for baby deals.

FurBabyMomma

Just checking in to say Hi and hope all you September mammies and babbies are doing well x

73trix

Hi FBM! ! This group are VERY quiet! How are you two getting on? We are good. Feeding my babe now. My boy is 19 wks now (gasp -time is flying!) . Still bfing which I really enjoy but torn as want to ttc and it hampers fertility. Thinking of stopping nite feed for bottle soon. My chap had first illness last week -ear infection - but grand again now and other wise very healthy luckily. * He sleeps 7-7 waking once/twice -once for a feed, sometimes again for a chat!! Really enjoying him and the mat Leave but wish time would slow down a bit. How is everyone else doing?

*Hmmm.. well up to a few days ago his sleep WAS great but since ear infection last week, tbh he has been very hard to get down at night. ONce he goes down tho' we are good but I'm finding it exhausting settling him to sleep in first place. Guess I was hoping by this eve this phase would have passed but no.. still bad. Guess I was hoping not to have to be on about it here as it had been going sooo well! used to take anything from 5 minutes to 15mins on a "bad day" but these nights it can take anything up to 1.5 hours :-(

Karmella

Hey gals, yes time is definitely flying by, Calvin is over 5 months now! He is rolling over and driving himself mad then cos he gets stuck He has a great temperament- giggles and smiles a LOT!! He only gets upset when his gums are at him which seems to come and go, no teeth yet.

Regarding mat leave, I got an email from my boss last month asking if I would have any interest in working part time for a couple months as they are so busy in the office. I politely told him to where to go!! Honestly I'm sure they think im sitting on my arse all day at home! I'm already having a panic attack thinking about how I'm going to manage childcare when I do go back, never mind having to work it out now!

73trix

Sounds good. When are you due back to work? I have til August but also sick at the thought of finding childcare. Head firmly in the sand there! How is he sleeping for you?

Karmella

73trix wrote: »

Sounds good. When are you due back to work? I have til August but also sick at the thought of finding childcare. Head firmly in the sand there! How is he sleeping for you?

Pretty good sleeper, I put him down around 8 and he wakes between 12-1 and 4-5 - very quick feeds both times.

I'm due back August aswell but hoping to be granted parental leave until September so I can see my older boy start school etc. Can't afford to have 2 of them full time during the summer. Still don't know what to do then though as the creche I use for him don't do after school

73trix

Its a nightmare isn't it? Oh to win the lotto...

Sounds like you are doing great wtih babs tho.

Karmella

Thanks, just read your edit there, it's so difficult when their sleep patterns go out of whack!! Hopefully he'll be back on track soon for you. A sickness can usually upset things alright, but they bounce back.

Great that you are still bf'ing aswell, I'm blue in the face from washing bottles! Well ok that's a lie because my dishwasher does all the work :P But it's the organisation involved. I also find I'm using crockery & utensils just so I can justify putting it on ha ha. Just as well I've no water meter!

FurBabyMomma

Hi 73trix and Karmella, lovely to hear from you and sounds like you're getting on great with your little ones Typical about the sleep though 73trix ; just when you think you've a handle on it everything goes upside down!

Ugh dreading the return to work!!! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone and how much I love being at home with her. Still bf and she still won't take the bottle so was starting to panic. We're lucky in that we can just about manage the 16 weeks unpaid leave and I have some holidays to take so won't be going back til first week of August.

Never thought I'd be one of those people who wants to stay at home after having a baby

Btw 73trix, I'm on a group on FB and a lot of women are pregnant and still breastfeeding - I'm hoping to start trying myself before the end of the year and I'll still be bf.

madeinamerica

HI ladies, lovely to hear from ye all again and glad to hear things are going well. R is doing great, he is just so wonderful and fun! Two little teeth popping through on the bottom make him even cuter (I know I'm biased!), lots of giggles and funny noises. Teeth do seem to be at him, expecially when he's tired, makes him cranky. Sleep is better than it was although he still wakes up a couple of times a night. I've taken to bringing him in to bed beside me at about the 4am waking, everyone gets sleep then. It snowed here last night so we took him out on our balcony to see the snow this morning, he wasn't too impressed with it

I saw your posts yesterday and it made me feel so sorry for myself to read that ye aren't going back to work till like August. Enjoy every bit of it! I am back to work since just before christmas and I've also been teaching a class two evenings a week since Jan 14th. It has been a form of hell. Not enough sleep, not getting my day job done properly, spending way too much time preparing the classes cause my brain does not work and I can't remember anything and subsequently not getting time with R or his dad. So, basically I was doing nothing right and driving myself crazy in the process! I've just given notice that I'm quitting the teaching spot. Horrible to admit that I can't do it but it's either quit now or end up ill from stress in a few weeks. This lack of maternity leave in the US has made up my mind, I won't be still here when my next child is born!

madeinamerica

On BF and pregnancy, a friend of mine BF before and during two of her pregnancies, so I guess it is possible.

RentDayBlues

73trix wrote: »

Hi FBM! ! This group are VERY quiet! How are you two getting on? We are good. Feeding my babe now. My boy is 19 wks now (gasp -time is flying!) . Still bfing which I really enjoy but torn as want to ttc and it hampers fertility.

I bf my first til 16 months, got pregnant again when she was 9 months. Once they are not feeding at night your fertility can return pretty quickly and remember that breastfeeding is not recommended as a family planning method past 6 months, which you are so close to.

We didn't start trying until she was 7 months and the delay was due to me coming off mini pill then.

73trix

FurBabyMomma wrote: »

Never thought I'd be one of those people who wants to stay at home after having a baby

Btw 73trix, I'm on a group on FB and a lot of women are pregnant and still breastfeeding - I'm hoping to start trying myself before the end of the year and I'll still be bf.

Yep, me too! I'm loving being at home with babs. Others I know talk about having to go somewhere every day or they'd go nuts. For me, I like to get out half the week, the rest of it, equally happy to stay at home!

Good luck with the bottle. I've been using supplementary bottle since early days which is lucky.

Thanks for bfing note. Most of the research I've done talks of those who's cycles didn't come back for ages. I'm anxious to get going asap due to my age but am sad to think of stopping the bfing too but will have to.

73trix

madeinamerica wrote: »

HI ladies, lovely to hear from ye all again and glad to hear things are going well. R is doing great, he is just so wonderful and fun! Two little teeth popping through on the bottom make him even cuter (I know I'm biased!), lots of giggles and funny noises. Teeth do seem to be at him, expecially when he's tired, makes him cranky. Sleep is better than it was although he still wakes up a couple of times a night. I've taken to bringing him in to bed beside me at about the 4am waking, everyone gets sleep then. It snowed here last night so we took him out on our balcony to see the snow this morning, he wasn't too impressed with it

I saw your posts yesterday and it made me feel so sorry for myself to read that ye aren't going back to work till like August. Enjoy every bit of it! I am back to work since just before christmas and I've also been teaching a class two evenings a week since Jan 14th. It has been a form of hell. Not enough sleep, not getting my day job done properly, spending way too much time preparing the classes cause my brain does not work and I can't remember anything and subsequently not getting time with R or his dad. So, basically I was doing nothing right and driving myself crazy in the process! I've just given notice that I'm quitting the teaching spot. Horrible to admit that I can't do it but it's either quit now or end up ill from stress in a few weeks. This lack of maternity leave in the US has made up my mind, I won't be still here when my next child is born!

That's really rough. Good idea on getting away from such anti-parent leave over there. Great that your little one is doing so well.

73trix

RentDayBlues wrote: »

I bf my first til 16 months, got pregnant again when she was 9 months. Once they are not feeding at night your fertility can return pretty quickly and remember that breastfeeding is not recommended as a family planning method past 6 months, which you are so close to.

We didn't start trying until she was 7 months and the delay was due to me coming off mini pill then.

Thank you. I'm hoping to start with a bottle for the night feed soon. I did an odd one (one formula during the night) to see how it went down (okay) but then my little guy got sick and I went back to exclusively bfing 24/7 the past week and prob this week to be sure so ..next week I hope. He will be 5 months then.

Karmella

Oh mia- they really don't cater for working mums in the states at all do they? Yes you are right to give up the teaching post - and don't feel bad about it! you need to give yourself a break too!

comongethappy

Hey ladies, glad to hear you and the babies are flying! I agree, maternity leave is flying! My unpaid bit is starting now, not sure how we will manage, but neither baby or I are ready for me to go back! I am starting to get down over thinking how long I will be away from him when I go back. I live in Wicklow but work in Dublin City centre, so it's an hour and a half commute each way. We have to leave by 7:30 and don't get back home till 7 PM. And if we have to be up that early, his bed time will probably have to be 8 at the latest? So I will only have him for an hour a day, probably half of that a bedtime routine?


Madeinamerica, it's one reason I'm so glad I am not in the states! I hate the pressure put on working moms there, fair play for cutting back so you can spend more time with R.

Sleep here varies night by night. Try to have him asleep by 9, but some nights it is around 10, tonight he kept fighting and it was 11. Sleep varies from waking every 1.5 hours, sometimes 2.5 -3 hrs. Last night I got 6 hrs for his first stint! He keeps fighting though to try to get into bed with us, but I always worry about him, if I would press my boob over his nose when I was sleeping? So the crib it is, up until the last sleep when I am awake enough and hubby has left that I let him sleep with me.

AJ is flying on solids, still bf though pretty much as often as I had been as he refuses to take his bottles now. I can only get a little top up into him at night. It's going to be tough come 6 months when I majorly cut back.

73trix

comongethappy wrote: »

Hey ladies, glad to hear you and the babies are flying! I agree, maternity leave is flying! My unpaid bit is starting now, not sure how we will manage, but neither baby or I are ready for me to go back! I am starting to get down over thinking how long I will be away from him when I go back. I live in Wicklow but work in Dublin City centre, so it's an hour and a half commute each way. We have to leave by 7:30 and don't get back home till 7 PM. And if we have to be up that early, his bed time will probably have to be 8 at the latest? So I will only have him for an hour a day, probably half of that a bedtime routine?


Madeinamerica, it's one reason I'm so glad I am not in the states! I hate the pressure put on working moms there, fair play for cutting back so you can spend more time with R.

Sleep here varies night by night. Try to have him asleep by 9, but some nights it is around 10, tonight he kept fighting and it was 11. Sleep varies from waking every 1.5 hours, sometimes 2.5 -3 hrs. Last night I got 6 hrs for his first stint! He keeps fighting though to try to get into bed with us, but I always worry about him, if I would press my boob over his nose when I was sleeping? So the crib it is, up until the last sleep when I am awake enough and hubby has left that I let him sleep with me.

AJ is flying on solids, still f though pretty much as often as I had been as he refuses to take his bottles now. I can only get a little top up into him at night. It's going to be tough come 6 months when I majorly cut back.

Omg that's very tough hours! I don't blame you with taking the unpaid. I am too and in denial about not getting my salary...yikes! But we'll manage. Thank goodness for savings.

That's v difficult about the sleep . Is it teeth? It's so much easier to take them into the box d isn't it? I took my guy back Beith me again for couple nights when he was sick as easier than getting up non stop.

FurBabyMomma

Ah madeinamerica I was thinking about you when I wrote that only didn't want to say anything in case I upset you! America is awful in that regard. I was reading yesterday that as many as 40% aren't automatically entitled to any leave at all!

I was looking at the UK and you are entitled to a year off and up to 90% of your wages til 39 weeks. Annoying the company I work for pays it's staff maternity leave in the UK but not a penny for its Irish staff, you have to go on state leave.. Makes me want to leave them full stop!

madeinamerica

FurBabyMomma wrote: »

Ah madeinamerica I was thinking about you when I wrote that only didn't want to say anything in case I upset you! America is awful in that regard. I was reading yesterday that as many as 40% aren't automatically entitled to any leave at all!

I was looking at the UK and you are entitled to a year off and up to 90% of your wages til 39 weeks. Annoying the company I work for pays it's staff maternity leave in the UK but not a penny for its Irish staff, you have to go on state leave.. Makes me want to leave them full stop!

Ah thanks, fbm, but you're alright. I think about it often myself anyway as a couple of my friends at home has babies around me so I hear from them about how much leave they have too. I thought I'd be fine but it is harder than I thought. I can't imagine how it is for those who don't get any leave. I guess they must have to give up with whether they want to or not.

That is just mean that your company won't give its Irish staff the full benefits. Sorry to hear it.

madeinamerica

comongethappy wrote: »

Hey ladies, glad to hear you and the babies are flying! I agree, maternity leave is flying! My unpaid bit is starting now, not sure how we will manage, but neither baby or I are ready for me to go back! I am starting to get down over thinking how long I will be away from him when I go back. I live in Wicklow but work in Dublin City centre, so it's an hour and a half commute each way. We have to leave by 7:30 and don't get back home till 7 PM. And if we have to be up that early, his bed time will probably have to be 8 at the latest? So I will only have him for an hour a day, probably half of that a bedtime routine?


Madeinamerica, it's one reason I'm so glad I am not in the states! I hate the pressure put on working moms there, fair play for cutting back so you can spend more time with R.

Sleep here varies night by night. Try to have him asleep by 9, but some nights it is around 10, tonight he kept fighting and it was 11. Sleep varies from waking every 1.5 hours, sometimes 2.5 -3 hrs. Last night I got 6 hrs for his first stint! He keeps fighting though to try to get into bed with us, but I always worry about him, if I would press my boob over his nose when I was sleeping? So the crib it is, up until the last sleep when I am awake enough and hubby has left that I let him sleep with me.

AJ is flying on solids, still bf though pretty much as often as I had been as he refuses to take his bottles now. I can only get a little top up into him at night. It's going to be tough come 6 months when I majorly cut back.

It's great that you can take the unpaid leave too. Your commute sounds rough, I'm sorry. One thing I will say though, I do enjoy my mornings with R. I take him until I leave the house while my other half works on his laptop or goes for a run. I get up early with R and bring him with me as I get ready but also play with him and get him ready for the day. It started as a way to give my partner time to work or run but now I love it as it is just time for me and R together. He thinks it's hilarious when i play peak a boo with the shower curtain! So it might be a way for you to sneak in time with AJ

Tbh, as much as I don't want you to suffer from bad sleep, I'm so happy to hear someone else is having issues too! I don't feel so alone! I'm also paranoid about smothering R in our bed, so myself and hubby end up squished to one side of bed while R is panned out on my side good luck with the sleep.

73trix

What is your baby's bedtime routine girls? My guy is 20weeks now.

So I'm back about naps and sleep again but I'm always keen for an update form people as to how you are all doing. I have been keeping the routine v simple ie didn't want to get tied down with a nightly bath thing as too much effort so this is what I've been doing - nappy, sleepsuit, into bedroom to pull curtains, turn on nite lite (telling babe I'm doing these things as I go along) a bit of a sing to him - any slow song that I can think of but usually one of a couple of favourites Into his grobag (on the bed as he is still in the room with us) and then I feed him in the bedroom and out him down. Sometimes he falls asleep on the boob and these nights are easy. If he doesn't, it can take a while to settle him. Some nites, 5-10mins and then on a bad nite - up to an hour! :mad: We had a bad phase after ear infection where it took at least an hour for nearly 2 weeks but thats better now.

I've been wondering what do the rest of you do? I've been reading that it's a bad habit to feed last thing before putting baby down as he will associate this with sleep. I don't read to him yet as think he's too young for that but definitely will do this when he's a little older.

Naps continue to be hit and miss and barely 30mins - 0-3 times a day- varies incredibly. I have never nailed this and reckon he will never change at this stage. IN the house, he might nap on the couch or in his play gym but will not nap in his cot despite loving his cot at night time. I'm here on couch with him for the past hour as he tries to nap... again... having none of it, but that's just how it is with our scamp!

comongethappy

73trix wrote: »

What is your baby's bedtime routine girls? My guy is 20weeks now.

So I'm back about naps and sleep again but I'm always keen for an update form people as to how you are all doing. I have been keeping the routine v simple ie didn't want to get tied down with a nightly bath thing as too much effort so this is what I've been doing - nappy, sleepsuit, into bedroom to pull curtains, turn on nite lite (telling babe I'm doing these things as I go along) a bit of a sing to him - any slow song that I can think of but usually one of a couple of favourites Into his grobag (on the bed as he is still in the room with us) and then I feed him in the bedroom and out him down. Sometimes he falls asleep on the boob and these nights are easy. If he doesn't, it can take a while to settle him. Some nites, 5-10mins and then on a bad nite - up to an hour! :mad: We had a bad phase after ear infection where it took at least an hour for nearly 2 weeks but thats better now.

I've been wondering what do the rest of you do? I've been reading that it's a bad habit to feed last thing before putting baby down as he will associate this with sleep. I don't read to him yet as think he's too young for that but definitely will do this when he's a little older.

Naps continue to be hit and miss and barely 30mins - 0-3 times a day- varies incredibly. I have never nailed this and reckon he will never change at this stage. IN the house, he might nap on the couch or in his play gym but will not nap in his cot despite loving his cot at night time. I'm here on couch with him for the past hour as he tries to nap... again... having none of it, but that's just how it is with our scamp!

I think many mamas are vexed about baby sleep, be it bed time, naps, or both!

AJ's routine is bottle downstairs, nighty night to daddy and cats, nappy change, lullabies on you tube and star light projection when I say 'the moon and stars are high in the nighttime sky, which means it's time for beddy bye'. Followed with his night time story On the Night You Were Born. I fell in love with the story when I was pregnant and would read it to him before he was born, he's always calmed down when I recite it. Then bf and into bed to be zipped into grow bag and prayers. I am not overly religious, but find the monotony of prayer gets him dozey, and can't hurt any!

He generally goes down in half an hour but does need my help - patting or hand holding, and if he gets very upset, I have to bounce his mattress up and down (probably mimics a car ride?) However, depends on his mood. Tonight was 15 mins but was upset even bf bitting my nipples, not sure why but mattress was bounced. He generally only seems to sleep 3 - 4 hrs first stint, then I have to keep bf him to sleep. Sleeps after that tend to be 2-3 hrs, but lately he gets very upset going back in the crib, screaming. I have ended up taking him to bed with us so hubby can get some sleep, but I worry and can't sleep properly.

Naps very greatly. Today he had a 25 min morning nap, and two 1 HR naps in the afternoon and evening. However, he could just as easily have 3 45 min naps or 3 15 min naps. Nap routine is a short story if he is in form for it, putting him in a sleep bag and listening to rainforest sounds. I have to bf him asleep or there is no chance of any nap.

I plan to majorly cut back bf at 6 months, it will be a rough few weeks!

comongethappy

AJ was only sleeping 2 hr stints last night (bar one 3 hr in the middle). Had to take little man into bed when he woke at 4:30 and kept him there till 6:15 when oh got up as little man has figured out if he cries enough when daddy is sleeping, mommy will take him into bed. Hubby only had 4 hrs sleep and not happy.

Woke up this morning with major shoulder and neck pain (combination of awkward position when AJ was in bed with us and constantly hanging over his crib to soothe him when he was kicking up). I without thinking put on some of my hubby's tiger balm, was about to top up when I saw that you are not meant to use when bf as the oils can be toxic if they breathe in too much or manage to ingest it, so panicking now and keeping close eye on the little man :-( However he hasn't bf much since I put it on

madeinamerica

Can you wash off the tiger balm? They'd probably need to eat it or something. Do you think the instructions mean, like, don't put it on your nipples when bf or something?

Sleep, ah sleep. Our guy gets about 3-5 naps a day, ranging from 10min to 2hr. He wakes for the day around 6-7am and recently has been getting tired and cranky every 2 hrs or so. One thing we've noticed is that if he naps in the buggy or car seat, he doesn't seem better for it. It's like it isn't as good a sleep as when he's napping in his cot. We're awful though, he rarely goes to sleep unaided, for naps or nighttime sleep. He goes to bed at 7-8pm when we walk or sing him to sleep, sleeps til 11ish, I feed him then to sleep again, he'll wake about twice during the night. I don't feed him every time, i try soother, sushing, patting. If it doesn't work after a few minutes then I feed him. I take him in to bed with me most nights now, at about 4am. He crys in his sleep sometimes at naps but not at night.

Hubby and I have different ways to put him to sleep during the day, I try to sing and walk him while hubby holds and bounces him. We've no deliberate bed time routine at 7pm. I usually do it, just dim lights, change to night nappy, walk/sing till he's drowsy, then into cot, hand on chest shushing till he's asleep. Can take 10 min or an hour.

73trix

The sleep thing/ or lack of is a trial isn't it?!

comongethappy

madeinamerica wrote: »

Can you wash off the tiger balm? They'd probably need to eat it or something. Do you think the instructions mean, like, don't put it on your nipples when bf or something?/quote]

Yeah I washed it off in the shower, little man is fine just got a fright! Haven't a clue about the where, but was reading up on it more and apparently it's the camphor and menthol in it that's toxic to breathe too much in or ingest for them, same as what is in Vicks and I think my mom smothered me in the stuff when I had colds :-p

madeinamerica

Yeah, Vicks cured everything in our house too. Didn't know it was toxic love the smell of it!

FurBabyMomma

Oh god Vicks cured everything in my house too - that and flat gingerale

I think A sleeps quite well at night for a bf baby. Her last feed is at 10 so she's down at 11 and stays in bed til 8, waking once or twice. If she wakes the second time I usually take her into bed.

I'm starting to worry about how I get her to sleep though. I feed her to sleep, which is probably bad as it means dad can't get her to sleep. Unfortunately she still won't take a bottle so I don't know how to get her to sleep any other way???

Also during the day she will only sleep in the buggy bassinet if I bring her off for a walk with the dogs. However she will not sleep anywhere else, including her bed. So I'm in trouble when it rains and when she grows out of the bassinet in a month or two.

I'm never going to let her cry it out so if anyone has any other suggestions Im all ears lol. I think sleep is probably the number one difficulty we all face!