Winter Bubs 2010 #2

[lilyjack]

Hi girls :wave:

Haven't been on here for ages ... just took me about 30 mins to read through all the posts!

Angeleish - yep, we've tried meat.... chicken and beef. Both went down ok, must admit she wasn't opening as wide as she does for the fruit (think little L has mummy's sweet tooth!) but she ate it all. She pretty much eats anything now and I've noticed she wants more solids and is drinking far less of her bottle.

As for the sleeping, she has pretty much dropped down to 2 day sleeps - a longer one in the morning from around 9am until 11ish and then from around 2-3pm and then in bed for the night around 6:30am. I am finding it hard to find things to entertain her with now that she is awake more .... any suggestions :confused:

[nikki08]

Lily - I am finding the entertainment hard too some days. I try singing and dancing, watching TV programs together (not that either one of us is a huge fan of daytime TV), playing on the floor with the toys, having him watch me in the kitchen cooking or preparing food, going for a walk with the pram and swimming. Any other suggestions would be very welcome!

[angeleish]

ooh day time entertainment is hard isn't it. DS is a cat napping king and I am constantly struggling with new ideas. This is what we do:

* Lots of walks in the pram (at least once, sometimes twice a day)
* Jolly jumper
* Outdoor swing (fisher price baby swing)
* Songs and dancing
* Time on the play mat/jungle gym/floor
* Nappy free time
* Time on mummy/daddy's bed in front of the big mirror
* High chair time (ours has wheels so I can move him around the house and he can play with a toy or two while I do jobs around the house)
* Picnic rug outside in the shade watching the world go by
* Sitting on my lap watching the dog fetch (he is fascinated by the dog at the moment!)

Today he really was hard to stretch as he didn't sleep much at all. In sheer desperation I put him in the baby carrier and talked to him while I worked in the kitchen. OMG he is getting heavy - but he loved it. Then mid morning we went for a walk to the shop so mummy could have a "cornetto" reward!! Made my morning so much better!

[nikki08]

Angel - we do the mirror as well, L has taken a shine to it and laughs when he sees himself or me in it. So some times I just sit on the floor in front of the full length mirror and play and he finds it highly entertaining.

[angeleish]

Yeah - cheap thrils huh Nikki!! DS also loves the automatic garage door. I have been known to press the button a few extra times just so he can watch it go up and down ... the neighbours must think I'm nuts!!

[EarthAngel75]

Hey girls,

boy where has Nov gone? Ive been heaps busy with getting organized for our trip to Canada next week and barely have a moment to myself as C had been very sleepless for quite a few weeks but is all better now thank goodness!

Ive gotta say I've never heard of the mothers intuition being applied to starting solids - that usually comes with things like suspecting autism, a mental/physical delay and such in my experience. Also I've seen at the childrens hospital parents who thought they were doing the right things and they harmed their child. I for example deliberatly put C down for a nap twice on his tummy while he was having extreme sleeping issues for day sleeps so that he would actually get some sleep - now sure I was doing what was best for him (making sure he actually got some sleep) but that doesnt mean I didn't put him in harms way - as I very clearly did and am perfectly willing to admit that.

As for advice and things changing back and forth etc in terms of guildelines. That is not my experience if you go to the right source for information. For example if it's about allergies or when to introduce allergin foods to bubs then you get the advice/info from an allergist specialist. In our MG when the food ppl came to give their talk they gave us the latest update from the allergist ppl who say you can introduce peanuts earlier than 12m if there is no family history of allergies. If you were to ask a MACH nurse or GP they might say something different due to not being up to date with the latest findings as it is not their field of expertise. Same goes for things like the sleep positioners - just because something is for sale in Australia does not mean it is considered safe - and if you were to ring SIDS and kids (the specialists in baby sleeping) they would have told you that these sorts of things werent safe.

C has been to see Santa and was absolutely fine. In fact he turned right around and looked Santa right in the eyes and then proceeded to pull his beard :laughing: Got some lovely pics although quite pricey for not a properly cropped photo imo. Will be interesting to see what we get in Canada and for how much.

C is pretty much up for 2x 2 hour stretches and then a 3-4 hr stretch with a possible 20-40min catnap in there on some days for the last part of the day. For the morning awake time after feeding/changing/dressing he has tummy time under his playmat while I make my breakfast, then he comes and plays at the table with me while I eat and then we usually do a baby Yoga routine (it's more about positive affirmations and proper body stretching for babies than real yoga poses) which takes a good half hour or so and then we might do singing/stories until naptime.

For his next awake time he usually has a good 45-60min of tummy time with various toys about that get rotated daily and then we usually practice sitting/standing/walking/flying games etc until bedtime

in the arvo he follows me around doing any chores like hanging out the washing, we may go for a walk, He has time in his exercauser while I cook dinner etc, then he has daddy time and bathtime before bed.

When we get back next year and C is 7mths I'll be doing one day of Gymbaroo, 1 day at Questicon (a science centre that has an under 5s area thats really good), possibly one day of swimming lessons, 1 day at playgroup and 1 day a week of a special outing to either the zoo/aquarium/national gallery/miniature world etc and mothers group. I'll probably have the outings all be mornings or all be arvo's so the routine stays the same and then at the opposite time of day we'll have free play at home. Ive got a sandbox and water table which C will probably be into by about 9-10m and an outdoor climbing frame with baby swing and slide as well as heaps of outdoor trucks/cars etc for outdoor play and have a massive collection of all different varieties of toys already so that each day can be about a different type (skill) of toy.

Those of you in sydney as soon as bubs can crawl the museum that is across the road from Hyde Park has a great baby/toddler play area (has a huge hot air balloon, a boat sunken into the ground etc) and you can get an annual pass for quite cheap and the kids are free. Also once bubs are moving about playgroup is great!

C at 5 and a bit mths is 69cm long and about 8.5kg

[sparklesare]

Earth: you say you have never heard of mothers intuition being applied to solids. I think we all use mothers intuition to sone degree everyday with our babies. I know I do and I'm sure a lt of others in here will use it everyday. Not everything needs to be referenced, Googled, checked, scrutinized and questioned. Sometimes our gut instinct can be spot on.

[nikki08]

Sparkles - I agree there is a lot of information out there, a lot of it is well meaning but it changes quite regularly. Our instinct is a strong indicator and granted it's not always spot on but a lot of the time it's pretty good.

[angeleish]

If starting solids a few weeks before 6 months is the worst thing that I ever do as a mummy then I think I'm doing well.

Yes - we all try to follow guidelines as much as possible but they are just that - guides. I personally know my little one was more than ready to start solids early and was willing to go against the grain of the current recommendation. (Although many professionals differ on this recommendation)

I agree that we use our own intuition with our babies every day. I doubt there is anyone who has done exactly "by the book".

Has anyone else noticed that their baby's babble has changed recently? DS is making mommom sounds..... I love it. It sounds like "mum" especially when he is upset and grizzly. I think DH might have a little envy!!!

[nikki08]

Angel - yes the babble has become varied to suit the situation and the mum-mum noise usually comes out when wants a feed or a cuddle from me. It sounds very whingey though ;)

L crawled today for the first time! He proudly crawled across the floor (properly) and I had my camera handy to capture it all. I was so happy but now it's time to get serious about baby proofing! I'm looking for a playpen, I found one that is 2.2m x 2.2. We can't use gates in our new house like we can here and I need a safe baby area.

[sparklesare]

Angel: I've got O chatting away but it's Dadda dadda and Rarara and what sounds like yeah!! F is mesmerised by his brothers chatter but he is still squealing and babbling. I think once they start processing foods and chewing they start to get the sounds of words etc. Literally O has only done this since Saturday...I'm devo it wasn't Mumma ;-)

[nikki08]

Sparkles - you can always use it to your advantage, when O starts chattering Dadda you can say to DH "Oh I think he wants you, better go check him" hehe. You never know it might work ;)

[angeleish]

Great tip Nikki - "OK dad clearly he wants you". Sparkles I think Nikki is on to something!!

sparkles - maybe O is going to be the "spokesman" of the two. I know mum was saying I didn't talk for ages because my sister used to do it for me. Perhaps your boys will be the same.

Nikki - Crawling OMG!!!! How exciting!! Good luck finding the play pen. I have no idea. My little one is a bit of a couch potato and stays put nicely still.

I can't believe how quickly they are all turning into little people though. No longer little babies huh!! Can you guys even imagine this time next year chasing after walking little toddlers!!???

[sparklesare]

My O has almost got the crawl going on, I'm stuffed when they are toddlers Angel!! One will go one way and one the other!! O is so gogogo, so curious with everything. I can see him coming home with bruises and bumps, F will be my little charmer with the laaaaaadies!! :-)

[nikki08]

I was looking through L's newborn pics today and I have to agree, our LO's are growing so quickly. Wasn't that long ago they were all tiny and scrunched up and now they are starting to move about, in a few more months they'll be running around! Then we'll all be exhausted :dizzy:

[angeleish]

lol sparkles.... two running around in different directions will be a challenge!!! You wont need to go for a walk with your huge buggy anymore. Just chasing those two boys will be exercise enough!!

Nikki - I have DS's newborn pictures hanging in the lounge and find it hard to believe how little he was.

Sometimes I still can't believe that I'm a mum!

[nikki08]

Angeleish - it's a great feeling though isn't it. I can't wait to hear the words mumma :) I think L was making dadada noises this morning with DH.

[angeleish]

Yeah it's pretty amazing. Sometimes when it is tough I wonder what the hell I've got myself into, but for the most part I love it. He's just such a miracle (as they all are).

[sparklesare]

Angel I forgot you asked what foods are a hit for the boys.

I make all the boys from scratch and the best ones they love are pumpkin, carrot & sweet potato, apple pear always q huge hit. Avo and banana. Sliced up banana as a finger food same for steam carrots and brocolli and asparagus. Chicken corn and carrot, mince beef tomatoe (crushed) onion and herbs( like a bolognese).
I don't purée anymore as they both have the chewing down well. Pasta twirls cooked and cooled. Yoghurt (king island full fat) with blueberries or raspberries in it. Baby porridge.
I'm trying to expose them to everything as I fear fussy toddlers!! It's hard work cooking it all up but I actually enjoy it.
Haven't done fish or pork or lamb yet, will get there!!

[nikki08]

Sparkles - I'm going to start meat next week, what did you start with? Do you blend it up?

I am the same I try and prepare a range of food so L isn't too fussy. He eats most things. He currently loves wheat cereal, tastes like semolina porridge. I don't puree either, just mash with a fork.

[sparklesare]

I started with Chicken and just fork mash it up once I've cooked it. A roast chicken just the white meatis good to fork mash and the boys love it. Eggs I've also done as an omelette type thing with tomato a few herbs and chopped up potato. Cheese, shredded tasty I've used as a cheese sauce for the boys on brocolli and cauli but they are not really fans of it.
Mince meat I only tried this week. It stinks once defrosted though so I just make it fresh now.

[nikki08]

Did you use the whole egg for an omelette? I might try chicken first up, it's what we eat most of anyway aside from seafood. Like your two, L now chews his food pretty well even without teeth. He was eating pieces of banana the other day and he hoovered it down!

[sparklesare]

Yes I did use the whole egg for the omlette..not sure if that was the right thing to do but they didnt react to it at all. :o

Mine love banana pieces too, F is my hoover...will scoff absolutely anything I think!! Loves his food, and skinny as a runt so god knows where its going!!

[nikki08]

Liam's not a chubby baby either so I have no idea where all his food goes! He just keeps opening his mouth for more.

I was thinking of trying eggs in the next couple of months too, scrambled with some veg. The advice keeps changing as to whether it's good or bad to introduce it early so I might start by just giving him a little taste and see if he reacts.

[angeleish]

Nikki - I've now heard that introducing egg early is the recommendation. (Might want to check that out before listening to me though!! lol). If you are worried then trying a little first would be the way to go.

Sparkles - Thanks for sharing. You have some great ideas. DS has really started to improve on the chewing over the last day or two (we are doing lumpy purees and the occasional "real food"). It scares me giving "regular food" but I'm starting to introduce it as I hate pureeing everything!! So far we've had banana, watermelon and cheese as a "solid" food. Think I'll try your chicken idea soon. I'm also keen to introduce egg so I might do an omlette for lunch!

DS loves his food and is really chunking up for it. He has man boobs now!!! :D I have to say I love the whole feeding process and watching him experiment with food. Messy but so much fun!!

[surfergal]

i girls.. M is now 9.8 kg at just over 6 months. Paed isn't worried at all and said once she starts moving around ie crawling etc she'll trim right down. He also said it is typical of a reflux baby to go this way with weight, they either fail or thrive and she has thrived particularly with her last flare up she cluster feed badly..

She eats so much and still BF 4-5 times per day. She actually 'hums' in contentmant when she eats or BFs its hilarious! I am thinking about starting her on the egg thing too.. we don't eat red meat here but i feel she will need to eat it to get her iron up. So i will make my mum prepare it for her and we can freeze it.. i can't bring myself to touch the flesh heheeh.. i eat chicken and some fish, but make DH do all the preparing heheheh.

I am going to try her on Tofu soon, the silken one.. probably just mash it down lumpy and chuck in some spinach brocoli puree with it.. and cook it up..

M had her first demotion in life the other week :( at swimming. As she was a caesar baby she has a very irratic nervous system still and throws her head and neck right back when water is tipped over her face.. so she got put back into the baby baby class.. I must say though DH and I laughed.. her first demotion at 6 months of life. She is improoving heaps and the teacher said it won't be long - probably 3 more lessons and we will be getting her head underwater. Her reflexes are settling much more now as she gets older. She doesn't cry its just this crazy reflex she has its so strong.. and instead of her closing her mouth she is throwing it open too.. so no good for underwater! However she loves swimming and is the crazy kid in the class that yells out and carries on !!

[angeleish]

surfer - i never thought about tofu. Good idea!! Might try that too! DS still loves his BF too and makes similar noises when feeding.

How cute about M enjoying swimming. lol @ the demotion.... sounds like our dog at dog school (she later went on and was top of the class so maybe M will be the same). DS will start swimming lessons soon with DH. Can't wait :goodvibes:. I love the water so I'm hoping DS will share this love too.

[nikki08]

Surfer: L loves swimming lessons, he is one of the most vocal kids in the class too. I'm sure M will be diving before you know it :)

Angel - now all this mention of omelettes has me wanting one :laughing:

Here is one for mothers instinct, I detected L's fever this morning an hour before the thermometer even showed one. I told DH he was warm but he didn't notice it and I checked with the thermometer but it didn't show much of a temp. Then an hour later I tried again and low and behold my little man did have a fever so he has now had a cool bath and panadol and its come right down. Never doubt Mum :)

[angeleish]

Good work Nikki - or should I say super mum. I hope he is okay. Us mum's know best!!

Well after weeks of 30 minute power naps DS had a huge sleep this morning - 2 hours!!! Almost unheard of for him!! It was so nice to have some day time "me time". Hopefully he can pull a few more of these and start making a habit of it. If not even 1 hour would be better than his usual!!

We didn't end up trying omlette. Had lunch in the city instead... maybe tomorrow!! (I might share it with him)

[hopefulmama2b]

Hi Girls! wow, has been soo long since I was on here! Hope u and the bubs are all excellent! I'm exhausted working and sometimes its soo hard to leave Billy but I'm definetely going back to work full time mid feb so its giving me a taste for it I guess. I get home from wk about 6pmish and Billy and I have cuddles and play and then he has his farax bottle at 8pm and then he goes to bed about 8:30pm-9pm and sleeps till I wake him about 7am in the morning.. if I leave him he will sleep to 8am, such a good sleeper now. He has two sharp little front bottom teeth as well, got them last week. He loves his food as well, tbh, I don't really have the time to make him stuff so I give him raffertys gardens, he looves them, the tuna one, the bangers and mash and the apricot chicken. He has 4 bottles a day now and banana for breakfast, a raffertys garden for lunch and then the nightly farax bottle- thats 4 bottles inc. that one. Surfer, I think M might be bigger than Billy now, I weighed him last night and he is about 9.6.. he seems to have lost a little lately but I am not worried! he is a cute little chubba! Like you, my GP was not worried- he said once he crawls he will lose a bit. He can do a bit of this backwards crawl business but still doesnt like being on his tummy for long.

Can't beleive its almost christmas! :santa:

[angeleish]

hopeful - great to hear from you. Sounds like you are very busy but that the return to work is suiting you.

DS loves the rafferty garden mixes too. We do about 50% home made, 50% raffertys here. DS also loves the tuna, bangers and mash and apricot chicken ones. Also, any of their fruit mixes are a hit.

Sounds like he is one happy and content baby sleeping through for you. (DS is still hit and miss - sometimes wakes for a feed once, sometimes sleeps through)

[nikki08]

Hopeful - sounds like you have a great routine going there. I mostly cook for L but like you said it's very time consuming and if I was back at work I think I'd struggle to find the time. Spending time playing and cuddling with them is much more important than slaving over the stove!

Angel - L loves Raffertys and Heinz and homemade. He isn't fussed as long as it comes quickly! He eats banana almost every day too, he loves it. His eyes lit up last night as I peeled one!

Do any of you find now the bubs are more active that they get frustrated and whinge more. The whinging drives me nuts some days. It's like he's found his whingey voice and he wants to get in as much practice as possible!

[angeleish]

Nikki - yes to the whinging. Especially when he's tired (by the end of the day). I think also for us it is a little frustration as DS isn't all that mobile and just wants to get to his toys a little easier. I've also found that now he whinges when I leave the room... so I try to sneak out. Doesn't bother him then :D.

DS was particularly unsettled today - combination of a VERY early start and lots of cat napping. I think he may also be getting more teeth but I can't be sure as he doesn't like opening his mouth for me to look anymore. Hopefully he will be a happier camper tomorrow.

[nikki08]

Angel - glad it's not just me. Every time I leave the room L starts to cry and won't stop until I come back again. It frustrates DH because only I can stop him crying at the moment :(

[hopefulmama2b]

Angel - glad it's not just me. Every time I leave the room L starts to cry and won't stop until I come back again. It frustrates DH because only I can stop him crying at the moment :(


oohh yes same here!! Billy is SO loud and vocal!!!!! He loves his banana too and has eaten it since about 7 weeks old LOL

[sparklesare]

Yep, I get the whinging too...in tandem!! It drives me batty some days!! O is particularly whiney...broken record whiney!! :laughing:

F will just cry if I leave the room etc, but when he sees me come back giggles and smiles.

Hopeful: Great to hear B is more settled with his sleep, you were having a rough time there.

O is getting so mobile and scooting around the place..I am seriously going to have to pull my finger out and baby proof soon. :rolleyes:

[angeleish]

awww cat - that sleep issue is bloody awful!! :hugs: I don't know how you're coping. I hope you can get some help soon. Something has to change.

As for moving to the next stage of foods it just kind of happened here. Once DS had tried most fruit and veg we just kept going. He's still mostly on puree and lumpy mash but I'm slowly introducing "real" solids such as cheese, pieces of chicken, sausage etc. He's a pretty slow chewer so it is still a little of the "real" food followed my "mush", but over time we'll slowly decrease the amount of mush/puree.

sparkles - tandem whingey ... lol. Must be nuts at your place at times.

My little one is still not overly mobile. He does manage to move around and get to his toys but gets quite frustrated because he really finds it hard to move. His legs move like crazy and his arms do too - but he needs to work on combining them a little better.

[nikki08]

Cat - I made some chicken, sweetcorn and pumpkin the other day with a bit of vegetable stock. L loved the taste but gagged on the sweetcorn. I think he is used to slurping his food. I've given him pieces of banana to eat but he inhales it with such enthusiasm I have do it carefully. It's a bit nerve racking moving onto more 'real' food but I guess slowly does it. Maybe try cooking up something bland to start with like one meat and some potato and then if that's a hit, try adding something more the next time and just work your way up to more complex meals.

I got my last chicken recipe idea from the jar of a heinz baby food mix :laughing:

[surfergal]

Hi everyone.. sorry I haven't been on for a bit.. have been very busy with Christmas etc and trying to get M sorted..

Looks like everyone is progressing well with the solids... M happy to eat most things within her age range.. we are going to try her on some egg soon and tofu.

For the last week M has finally decided to settle at bedtime.. unbelieveable for 16 weeks we could take almost 3 hours to get her into bed EVERY night. Then it all stopped as quickly as it started.. She still sleeps through the night.. usually 6 pm until 4 am then feed then down again until 7 am.. magic.. I love her 4 am feed and I often wake up at 4 am ready for her to wake.. which she does without fail.

Wishing ~ good to hear you are off for number two. I hope you get lucky this time as you did last.. We have decided we won't be trying again at all. I am even going to have a tubal ligation next year, just to cover all bases :yes:. It has come down to lots of things mainly finances and the risk of having another severe reflux baby. I couldn't even begin to imagine dealing with that again. We are more than happy with M and already have her on a waiting list for private school in Brisbane for senior years. I on the other hand will probably go back to work in the next 3-4 years as cabin crew with one of Ozs domestic airlines. Can't get the flying out of my veins and the money is too good..

Take care all and if i don't drop in before Christmas hope you all have a safe merry and happy time with your families and your little ones :santa:

[nikki08]

Wishing - going back already, how exciting for you :yelclap: I hope you have success quickly and an easy pregnancy as well. I visited my clinic today to show DS off and decided I wasn't ready to start again just yet, I might consider it when he is 2-3 years old.

Surfer - I didn't realise you worked for the airlines. What do you enjoy about it the most?

[angeleish]

wishing - great to see you back!! Sounds like your little one loves his routine. I wish my little one liked his sleep as much! So exciting to hear that you are going back for #2!!! I am still thinking of heading back to the FS when DS turns one. So by the time he turns one and then we make our booking I think we'll do a FET around the middle of next year - ish. Do you have any frosties or will you do a new cycle? I hope it is really easy and quick for you. Keep us posted!! :goodvibes:

surfer - I'm so glad that bedtime is back on track for you. What a relief!!! As for you working for an airline - that would be a great job. How lucky for you to be able to get back into that industry! Also, DS still has is early morning feed (3-4am ish... although sometimes earlier). I also quite enjoy it too. He is so snuggly at that hour. In saying that, I love it just as much when he sleeps through even though that is quite rare!!

[angeleish]

I hear you wishing. I can completely understand that the decision to have or not have another child is a big decision and we all have to do what suits us best. If TTC were easier for us I would probably wait for at least 2 years before starting again, however, TTC is set to be difficult again and my chance of m/c is still high so DH and I have decided to start again sooner rather than later. Also, unfortunately my age is sneaking up on me so I don't want to leave it too long before trying for number two.

As I said earlier I hope your journey next year is nice and quick.

A little :sleeping: here. DS started today at 5.30am. Given that he is still cat napping most of the time it is going to be a really long day.

[nikki08]

Wishing - I think if I hadn't had such an exhausting pregnancy and the health problems after having DS I probably would be thinking about trying again next year too. It was always the plan to try again when DS was 11-12 months old but after the last pregnancy I just want to give my body a bit of a break first. I think it's exciting you are trying for number two :yes:

Angel - I know all about catnapping, that's all DS seems to do. Hopefully he gives you at least one decent sleep so you can put your feet up, have a cuppa and chill out.

[surfergal]

Nikki ~ i worked for Ansett for five years as cabin crew before they went under... and then i went back nursing after that however was nursing prior to Ansett... I love flying, its a fun job, and you get to meet alot of different people and i also love working with the crew - the blokes in the pointy end. Its hard on your body but the money is excellent.. if i go back flying and get a cabin service managers position i will be on great money...

as for the catnapping, i have noticed with M since she has been sleeping through at night now her morning sleep is usually only one sleep cycle 45-60 mins max arvo one is usually longer up to 2 hours, she seems to cope fine on that amount of day sleep..

[angeleish]

hmmm cat napping is doing my head in.

How many of you have dropped down to 2 naps?? If so, what times do your little ones go down for them??

DS's longest nap is in the morning. Usually this is a 45 minute nap. I then try in the afternoon but usually only get 30 mins out of him. Because of this he then needs another 30 minutes late afternoon to make it to bed time.

I've been trying to get him to 2 day naps as I'm hoping that he will end up with two long naps instead of 3 cat naps. I'm also hoping it will make for a happier baby (and mummy) in the afternoon.

I find DS doesn't really show many tired signs anymore. he is like a energizer bunny and will keep going and going so I'm kind of looking for a new routine that will fit him better.

Any suggestions?????

[surfergal]

Angel.. I read on the Babybliss website that after 6 months both sleeps ideally should be around about 1.5-2 hours each. I would be lucky to get 1.5 hours let alone 2 out of M in the morning but arvo sometimes. If she does wake in the arvo after 45 mins I refeed her and put her back down, if she goes to sleep excellent, if not I don't worry about it and bring her bedtime forward, and yes M doesn't really get tired and grumpy much anymore she just goes into over tired mode. On Monday we went up to see my parents - they live just over one hour away. We let M have her morning sleep and arvo sleep in the car. On the way up she fell asleep quickly within 5 mins and slept the whole way, however on the way home she was so OVERTIRED she just sat in her carseat and stared at the back of the passenger front seat.. I felt so sorry for her.. when we got home it took me 2 and a half hours to get her down and then she woke screaming at 1030 and 1130 pm as well as her usual 4 am feed. I felt so bad, so she is still a little to young to be taking out for such big adventures. The week before I tried to stay at my parents with her and spent 169 bucks on stupid Phil and Teds port a cot. it was like a sauna and I ended up having to repack the car late in the afternoon and turn around and come home.. My mum even tried to hire a cot but it was to late in the arvo on a friday and most hire places had already been hired out.. when i got home i was so so tired and DH was at work so i had to unload the car by myself THANKFULLY M went straight to bed.. not a peep. (not like tonight she is yelling out arrgghhh ) gosh that was an essay sorry.. :ecomcity:

[angeleish]

Thanks for sharing surfer. I can cope ok with DS being a crappy day sleeper as he is good at night (touch wood), but he's a little all over the shop at the moment. I'm really hoping that by changing him to two day sleeps we can improve on the catnapping business. Even if I could get two 1 hr naps it would be better than now.

He seems to be able to cope with 2.5hrs awake time before needing a nap, however, when we are out he manages to last 3 hrs. Maybe I should start stretching him to 3 at home????

I've never tried bringing his bed time forward so may think about that. Thanks for the tip.

I am very careful now to get him to bed by 7 as I know regardless of what time I put him to bed he wakes early so if I put him to bed early he is more likely to get a good 11/12 hrs at night (with one quick overnight feed). I figure if his day time is going to be crappy then I need to really make sure his night time is good.

I do think he might be getting more teeth so I'm hoping that sorts itself out soon and his day sleeps start getting a little longer.

hmmm I think I've :ecomcity: enough.

[sparklesare]

Angel: I hear you re the catnapping, O has been doing my head in for over a month now. That 6 month sleep regression hit O hard. That and a combination of two front teeth coming through. Had a horror of a night Wednesday night, woke screaming in pain as they were cutting through, finally we have two little teeth...for all the grief they cause poor Mumma! :) Neurofen and Bonjela are my best friends!! Thankfully he settled down after an hour screaming the house down and went back to sleep.

Re dropping the sleeps. Ive been told not to drop the 3rd sleep (bear in mind 3rd sleep for my boys is purely a hour catnap to get us through to 7pm) before they are on 3 solids meals a day. My boys are but still need they sleep otherwise they are out of control overtired, and feral. And Mumma evicts them early to bed when they are like that. Ive been known to put to bed at 6-6.30pm if they dont get that last nap in.
My boys have both reduced their sleeps down to 1.5 hours in the morning and afternoon...still pretty lucky I know. I now put them to bed at 9:30am and 1:30pm so they are up for an extra half an hour to get them tired to avoid a catnap, which O fell in to a shocking habit of this last month.

Surfer: My fellow Cart Tart" or Galley Hag as I used to be called! :D I also flew with the airlines, Qantas for me..loved it. As Surfer said, the money is awesome and the lifestyle is great with no commitments. God I couldnt even imagine doing it now with the boys. I am staying home next year, so no definite plans to return anytime soon. Mumma to the boys.. Well done for going back to the sky Surfer...imagine the pair of us of a flight..god would they even get fed or get a drink!!!

Flat chat busy here as usual, O is nearly crawling and was back in hospy today for a repair on his oesophagus...waiting rooms do my head in, and time ticks very slowly in hospitals. To make it worse, the MRI dept flooded today so they had a Code Red alert and all doors went in to Security Mode and we were locked in!!! NOT IDEAL with a 7 month old!! Was funny though, as we were first on the surgical list and I think one of the last to leave recovery..Irony at its best!!

Im in need of a vino...good to see you all going well. Wishing congrats on going back for Number 2 - your always welcome to have F or O for a day for a fast reminder of how life would be!!! all the best with it.

[angeleish]

sparkles - thanks for understanding the frustrations of a catnapper!! 30 (max 40) minute blocks are doing my head in. He is averaging 1.5hrs per day!! :hair: Didn't know there was a 6 month sleep regression but clearly DS does as it started bang on the 6 month mark!! Oh well. He's still mostly happy and sleeping well at night. Mummy just misses her "me" time!! .....Even more reason for a good glass of red each evening to celebrate the end of another long day!!

We're on 3 solids a day so today I'm going to try to really stretch him and only do two naps. We'll see what happens.

Poor O with his teeth. Sounds like he had a tough time of it. DS has two bottom teeth and I have a feeling more are on there way. I just can't see them yet.

I can't believe we have 2 ex hosties on this thread!! How exciting. That was always my ultimate dream job. Unfortunately I never got that far. ... So I am very jealous of you two girls!!

I am also at home for all of next year and will re-assess after that. On bad days I could really do with a day at work, but for the most part I know I'm not ready to go back yet. Also, being a teacher, even on a bad day one cranky 7 month old is still a lot easier than a classroom of teenagers on a Friday afternoon!!

I have to say DS is uber cute at the moment. He's starting to crab crawl a little and can now move backwards and sideways (but not forward!! lol). He's also so alert and just soaking in everything. I just love watching him play.

[nikki08]

Angel - I love how alert L is getting too, it's so much fun to watch him play. Yesterday I put him on our bed and he was rolling around laughing, hiding under the doona and basically teasing me to chase him. It is such a huge change from the little baby who once could barely focus on my face.

On the subject of naps, our day naps have become a little less stressful but I've had at least a couple of months of day napping disasters. Now L sleeps three times a day (he is on 3 x solids, sometimes 4 if he wants a small snack). His naps are usually around 8:30am - 9:30, then about 11am - 12:30ish and then sometimes he'll want another short nap around 3:30. I won't let him nap after that because he goes to bed at 5:30pm and sleeps through until 5:30am. (When I say sleeps through he does wake for a feed, sometimes two but then he goes back to sleep). So all up I'd say he sleeps around 3-4 hours during the day and about 11 - 12 at night. Not sure if that's normal but that seems to be the amount that L needs at the moment to be happy.

[surfergal]

Nikki ~ re the sleep thingy.. "normal" you just do what works for you lovey.. i really don't think anything is normal.. I did my head in with M trying to get her to follow Tizzy and numerous others, but we just got our own way sorted out.. I think there is alot of pressure for mothers to get their babies to 'sleep' the way a certain book or author says.. just do what works and suits you i say!

Sare ~ Sounds like those cheeky monkeys are keeping you on your toes.. I laughed how you said you evict them to bed early.. lol.. somtimes i put M into bed at 530 am she will still sleep until 4 am feed then go down again until 630 - 7 am.. crazy.. Yep the old biscuit b1tch.. great job to be had.. My mother isn't in agreeance with it and DH not at the moment either but i will work on them both.. I have about 3 years before I go back anyways.. yes us two on a flight.. we'd be in the galley yabbering non stop and eating all the pax food and then telling them the caterers forgot to re stock the aircraft heheheh:shame:

Angel ~ I know what you mean about missing the me time during the day.. M used to sleep 3 hours in the morning and then 2 in the arvo.. now she has cut right back i spend half the morning running around whilst she is asleep trying to do stuff.. we can't use our washing machine whilst M is asleep as the pipes water hammer through her bedroom wall. In saying this though, I can easily leave M in her playpen with all her toys and ABC for kids on for over one hour.. she isn't a very grizzley kid and only grizzles if something is upsetting her ie tired, hungry etc.

AFU ~ WE had a near disaster last night. M was still sleeping in her love me baby wrap. I had intended on getting her out of it yonks ago as she was getting to big and i didn't want to fork out the cash for another. So i purchased her a grobag 6-18 months Tog 1. Anyway she had the relfux flare up and I didnt' want to 'change' anything for her, so left her in Love Me baby swaddle suit, and purchased the next size up. Last night she was in bed asleep or so I though about 45 mins after she went down and she just started screaming.. I am not sure how long she had been screaming but i think it was a while as she was all sweaty, but I was on the phone in our room and didn't hear her.. anyway i raced up to her and she had actually 'rolled' in her suit and had face planted and vomitted everywhere out of shear panic and couldn't get her face up.. (these suits they aren't suppose to roll in due to the way there arms are situated in the suit) I picked her up and she was covered in vomit all over her face.. it was so scary..:eek: Anyway I though f#*k it and got her grobag out expecting her to be a total disaster in it.. she slept right through the night missing her 4 am feed - but I would say she missed it as she had exhuasted herself from screaming.. whooa talk about so scary.. My mum once found her with the handle to her dummy caught in the palette of the roof of her mouth.. that was scary too.. anybody else have any other scary incidents?

[nikki08]

Surfer - wow those are scary! L was crawling around the house the other day and I was just following him about watching what he was doing, then he grabbed what I saw as a piece of dirt to shove into his mouth, I grabbed it off him to find he was trying to eat a dead spider. We had a pest spray of the house a few days ago and I'm sweeping up insects daily but that just freaked me out. I hate spiders and here is my son trying to eat one... :eek:

[surfergal]

Nikki ~ ewwwwhh a dead spider.. yuk.. maybe he thought it was halloween? My mum said everytime she took me to the beach when i was a baby i would try to eat cigarette butts.. arggghh YUK.. i never smoked.. lol

[angeleish]

OMG surfer - how scary. I well and truly would have crapped myself. Poor little mite. Are you going to keep with the grobag now?? I really think part of DS day time cat nap problems is that I am no longer wrapping him but then again I don't want to go back especially now that it is warming up.

As for close calls - I used to let DS play with a small heilium baloon that DH gave me when our little one was born. It was just a small one on a stick and he loved waving it around while I changed his nappy. Anyway one day the balloon just fell off the stick and he started to wave the stick and it came so close to poking him in the eye. I swear I've never snatched something off a child so quickly. Poor DS didn't know what had hit him. All I could think of for ages after that was how bad it would have been if DS had have lost his eyesight over a stupid balloon.

surfer - luckily DS is quite low maintenance too. I can usually leave him for 20 minutes on his play mat and another 20 on his bumbo and then another 20 on his jumper. I find if I do one of these activities every now and then it buys me enough time to do the odd job around the house. That way when he does sleep (or should I say power nap) I can sit down with a cuppa and the laptop and the telly instead of trying to do my work then. I think I've become very good at multi tasking and prioritising. On a really bad day I just pop DS in the baby carrier, strap it on me and do some work with him strapped on. He loves it and I feel most efficient (although exhausted by the end of it). I like to think of it as a good work out! ;)

Nikki - How cute the game L was playing with you!! He sounds like such an alert boy!

[surfergal]

Angel ~ Far out that is scary with the balloon thing... i know what you mean the stick thing.. i have one in Mayas room that came with some flowers, when i was in hospital

Anybody BORED!!! I am soooo BORED... we live 15 mins out of town, I don't have a mothers group as M was born interstate as that was where the closest private hospital was. The weather is foul and has been since september, and there is absolutley NO undercover parking if i do go into town.. DH is at work... and I swear I am going mental in this house.. I am trying to talk DH into moving in the next year or two.. further north towards the boarder.. better schools and shopping and closer to my parents.. M having a bad day with her day sleeps.. she has only had two sleeps at 40 mins each.. doing my head in :dizzy:

[angeleish]

Surfer - some days are like that aren't they. We too are in an area that we don't like and it makes things tough.

As for the mothers group - have you looked up for a play group in your area?? My mothers group is okay but nothing great anyway so I don't think you're missing out on much. I enjoy hanging out with my other friends rather than the ones from mothers group (with one or two exceptions).

I always have to get out at least once a day so I don't know how I'd cope if it were constantly raining. It was bad enough here in the middle of winter when it was just too cold to go for a walk.

Also, could you try gymbaroo or something like that?? (If they have it where you are). DS loves it and I enjoy taking him. It messes with his routine a little but it is worth it for the fun we have (although it's almost finished for the year).

hmmmm don't think I'm much help

(oh and for the record DS is having a terrible day sleep wise too - I think it's the heat!)

[nikki08]

Angel - I've heard mixed experiences about mothers groups too. Luckily mine is really good and everyone is really friendly regardless of the babies ages. I got to playgroup with most of the mothers from my group now which is good fun too.

Surfer - sounds like a change will be as good as a holiday. We recently moved and we all feel so much more relaxed now. L is even sleeping better at night now we are all less stressed :)

[happy dance]

Hiya guys,

I hope you dont mind me crashing but I thougth I would bring your thread back to life.

I miss reading about how all your bubbas are doing so I thought I would update you on mine.

C is 7 months old today. I completely stopped breast feeding in November, its nice to have my boobs to myself :D. I can finally lie on them without feeling I have a couple of melons down my top.

Both hubby and I have returned to work part time and C attends day care a couple of days a week. Was a bit concerned about putting him into care but he absolutely loves it. We got our first finger painting which was just so cute. He also seems to have excelled whilst being in care watching the other kids. He is rolling all over the place but is yet to crawl. He can almost sit on his own for a few seconds and he can stand supporting his own weight when he holds my hands.

Night sleeps are getting better with only one to two feeds a night. I am so looking forward to the day I get a full night sleep.....wishful thinking....

love to hear how you all are going and wish you all have an amazing Christmas with your little miracles.

[nikki08]

Happy Dance - I hope you have a great Christmas with C, we are very excited about our first Christmas with L too! I am still :BFing: (had to use that icon) but with solids he feeds less during the day and mostly at night now. He still won't drink water though and I'm still home full time with him so am happy to do it. I am not huge anyway so I have found with time that even though I still feed they are not as big anymore.

L is now very active, he is crawling, cruising along furniture (standing and walking along) and gets into everything. He also swims for a few cm between us in the pool and happily goes under water. He is such a water baby! The water is great for him because he is so active it's the one thing that seems to occupy him for a while and tire him out, nothing else seems to...

Hope everyone has a great Christmas with their LO's :santa:

[happy dance]

Nikki, Wow cant believe you little man is walking and able to swim.

Our bub was born two weeks after yours and was a month early so not sure if that effects his development milestones. We support him onto his knees to be in the crawling position and then he just goes splat onto the floor. He seems to love being on his tummy and can shuffle around reasonably well on his tummy.

In some respects I would love to see him crawl and in other respects happy to wait as I know he will be a handful when he actually starts crawling.

We swim with him a few times a week. Hubby put him under the water once which he didnt seem to mind. I am not game enough to let him go. Do you do swimming lessons?? do you find them of any benefit or have any tips to share?

Its great that you get to stay home with your little one as I find they are such a pleasure. It is nice to finally start to see their personalities shine.

C watches us drink from a cup so he loves having a few sips of water out of our glasses. He isnt keen on the sippy cups so I might just keep trying with a normal cup.

Have you started any lumpy or harder foods??

[nikki08]

L has been in lessons for two months now and he seems to love it. I'm not sure I have any tips, but like you it took me a while to gain the confidence to put him under. He was ready and able but I was nervous. Now he just goes under all the time and comes up with a big grin on his face. I found the lessons gave me confidence to teach him.

The crawling stage is very active, L never stops moving. If we want him to stay somewhere we have to fence him in. If C is happy to shuffle about then that's great, L just wasn't a shuffler and would get cranky so it was good he mastered crawling he is much more even tempered now :p

I am feeding L lumpy foods and sometimes things like rusks, pieces of banana. He is lazy though and won't chew food properly so I don't want to push him. I figure if I just offer him finger food every now and then he'll get the hang of it in time. I'm sure he'll be eating me out of house and home before I know it!

[angeleish]

Holy moley look at all of the emoticons!! :elf:

Happy - great to see you in these parts again. If it reassures you my DS isn't crawling yet either. He gets up on his knees and rocks and can move backwards and sideways quite well but is still yet to master the moving forward bit. I've noticed the last few days he is really starting to get the idea of bending his knees and getting into position so my guess is that he wont be my couch potato for much longer!!! and for the record my DS was born a week earlier than yours and past his due dates. They all develop differently in their own time.

Am jealous of you finishing BF!! I'm planning on sticking it out until he is 1 but want to finish just before or after that. Now that he is on solids big time I've noticed that at times he isn't that keen on his early afternoon feed so I guess in a month or two we'll start dropping feeds anyway - the end is in sight! :cheerleader2:

As for swimming - we haven't tried yet. We will start lessons at the end of January.

Solids - he will eat lumpy food but prefers smooth purees. He has a cold and sore throat at the moment so we are back to smoother purees to help his little throat but until then we were going well with the lumps. As for "real" food he loves cheese small bits of tender meats banana and watermelon.

We had a shocker last night as poor DS just couldn't sleep with his bad cold. We haven't had such a bad night since he was newborn. The poor little thing. I went out and bought a vapouriser today so hopefully that will help him tonight. This is his first cold and it is such a huge learning curve on how to care for a sick baby! :coffee:

Not long until our baby's first Christmases now!!! Woo hoo!! :santa:

[happy dance]

Thanks angeleish,

Good on you for continuing to breast feed. I found my milk supply just kept dropping the longer I was at work and I was needing to supplement more with formula. My original goal was to breast feed until at least 4 months and I continued until he was about 6 months so I was happy with that. If my supply hadnt dropped off so much I probably would have continued for longer, just didnt think I was offering that much nourishment.

We have tried a few lump foods but C doent seem to tolerate them very well. Still needs to get the chewing down pat. I gave him tiny bits of peeled grape after some pumpkin yesterday. Big mistake as the whole lot came back up all over me. I think I might leave it a bit longer before I try lump soft foods again. C just doesnt seem to chew efficiently.

It is horrible seeing our little ones suffer with a cold. C had his first cold about 2 weeks ago and it just broke my heart. Cant beleive how much mucus a little baby can produce. I hope your bubbas cold goes as quickly as it started poor little love!!!! get better soon..

Nikki, I have the rusk sticks in the cupboard but I think i will leave them for a while. C loves banana, I still tend to mush it up but I might try and offer it to him in little pieces and see how he goes.

[nikki08]

Must be the season for colds, L is having his first real cold too and he is not happy :( Poor little boy tries so hard to stay happy but with weepy eyes, dribbly nose and a fever he just finds the whole thing overwhelming.

[angeleish]

Happy - with lumpy foods we started with his favourites. DS loves pear and apple puree so we made these our lumpy foods first. Then for his less favourite foods (veg) we made them a little more watery than usual but with lumps..... we also snuck in some butter to make it extra yummy. He is now quite good at lumps but we still have a long way to go.

As for the BF I think anyone who makes it the first few months does well. If I were back at work like you then I definitely would not have continued. I'm now not back at work for another 12 months (have extended my leave) so I'll keep on keeping on..... but I can't wait to finish BF and have my body back (and wear what I want without having to think about BF logistics!!).

OMG what is it with all of our little ones and colds??? Can't believe how much one little nose can dribble.... DS fights the fess and tissues like crazy now as he is so over it. Honestly though, the vaporiser is one of the best investments!!!

Nikki - hope DS recovers quickly just in time for Christmas.

[happy dance]

Nikki, I hope C gets better soon. It is so sad to see them with puffy eyes and cheeks. You can really see they are suffering. I still cant believe how good C was during his cold, still managed to smile and laugh, just melted my heart.

angeleish, I think C developed a fear of tissues while he had a cold. I dont understand why they hate having their nose wiped soo much.

The vapouriser sounds like a great idea, I found the steam in a bath helped heaps.

It took about two weeks for C to fully get over his cold but he was over the worst of it in about three or four days. I found he was up so much more during the night as his blocked nose affected his feeding so he needed to eat more during the night.

[hopefulmama2b]

Hi Girls and bubs!
Sorry, it has been ages since i got online to post.. i have been reading a litttle but! Holy CRAP nikki, Liam is walking!!! OMG! Billy isn't even crawling lol.. he can backwards shuffle realllly well and he is starting to bring his knees up when he is on the tummy but no actual crawling yet. He likes to stand on my lap though and he can sit unattended quite well. Very vocal little man, he has started to say dada and can clap too which he is VERY proud of lol.
SO exiting that its almost our bubs first christmas! Can't beleive how fast the last 12 months have gone!
I have the day off today so just enjoying spending time with my little man at home. We had DH's side of the families christmas yesterday and Billy just wanted to eat all the christmas cards, he loves them!
Hope everyone is well xxx
:reindeer:

[nikki08]

Hopeful - glad you are enjoying the Christmas break at home with your little man :) L isn't quite walking yet, he is just walking along furniture, pulling himself up and then shuffling along it. Sometimes he gets brave and moves from one piece of furniture to another but he is still very unsteady on his feet. I have watch him like a hawk at the moment because he is into everything!!

HD - I am finding L has gone off feeding a bit because of his nose but he needs the fluids so I am giving small feeds more often. What is making it harder is this intense heat wave we are having, he doesn't want to be held close and I don't blame him.

Angeleish - we sort of regressed with foods, L was starting to venture into a bit of chewing but now he is back to his mashed up pumpkin, apple, banana and cereals. He just purses his lips if I try anything else. I tried tuna and sweetcorn the other day and I should have taken a video, the look of his face was priceless! I won't try that combo again soon :o

[hopefulmama2b]

Nikki, Billy has just started to clamp his gums down when I try to feed him- its hilarious- and he turns his head away. I try and trick him and sneak a little bit of food in and once he realises he likes it, he is happy to eat. Soo funny! I feel like he has lost a little weight but because he was a little chunka i guess we could afford to lose some LOL- he is verrrry long now but!!!!
Back to work tomorrow for me for three days then off for christmas.. then a few shifts next wk I think then off for all of january!! WOOO!!!
I am realllly looking forward to NYE this year, last year because pregnant and not being able to drink SUCKED (although YES i was just SO happy to be preggers and the reward WAS worth it lol) but this year I am shipping Billy off to my mums and getting my drink on with the girls LOL :celebrate:

[angeleish]

lol hopeful you party animal!!! :party: Enjoy your NY drinkies!! Am still BF and DS still wakes (most nights) once so I'm joking that this year I'll go to bed my usual time and set the alarm for midnight! :coffee:I am jealous of you shipping DS off to your mums for a party. Hopefully next year I can do the same!!

As with the food DS does the same. I call it his "taste test". If it meets his approval then it is mouth open and action stations. If not his mouth is shut closed like a vault.

nikki - DS regressed with the lumps for a while too. In hindsight it was just before his cold so maybe his throat felt funny. Since his cold is on the mend we are back doing lumps again. Hopefully it will be the same for you too.

[surfergal]

Wow there hasn't been a post here forever.. how was everyones christmas? Ours was really good.. M had a great day and landed some top presents. Her favourite being her clam shell swimming pool and adjoining sand pit! She was so good all day as our house was packed with rellies and happily had two good day sleeps... M has been much better with her settling for sleep at night and her 3 hour screaming sessions seem a thing of the past for now! :cheerleader1:We have our first holiday in the middle of Feb at my parents unit in Coolangatta.. hopefully this inclement weather disapates.. it is so dire outside and it makes it really hard to get out as there are no undercover shopping centres around here.. Hope everyone else is good and we get some more posts soon!

[nikki08]

Surfer - glad to hear your Christmas was fun. We had a great time too watching L ripping apart the paper and playing with his new toys. He got an activity table, books, DVDs all of which he loved. He loves anything that makes noise at the moment. He was a bit unwell over the holiday season so we didn't have a great routine, added to the fact that we had people visiting and late nights but slowly things are getting back to normal.

Hope everyone else had a great Christmas

[EarthAngel75]

Hey girls J

We’re back in the land downunder now. Tried to post the other day but lost a long post so got too annoyed to try again at the time.
Hope you all had a fab first xmas with your bubbas. We had a great time in Canada. The flight over was a little rough as there was a lot of turbulence between syd and Honolulu which meant we had to take C out of the bassinet which always woke him up and then finally when you’d get him settled and back asleep and were allowed to put him back into the bassinet within 20mins there would be more turbulence etc. He managed only 6hrs sleep over a 24hr period. He adjusted to the time zone difference easily in that direction but has been much harder coming back. We didn’t get any snow that stuck on the ground but did have a day of mixed precipitation which DH was thrilled about LOL.
We got our tree from a tree farm so hand picked it and then DH cut it down. Corbin helped decide which one to pick. It was huge – 9ft tall and about 1.5-2m wide at the bottom. Every morning C would love sitting next to the tree looking at the lights and feeling the needles and just loved staring at it when it was all decorated. He got pretty spoiled for xmas. Lots of cute new winter clothes/hats/mitts and soo much more lol. We also got him the little tikes shopping trolley from his grandpa on DH’s side as it’s half the price over there, some Haba soft blocks, a few different wooden toys, the Boon weaning set (BPA free, cool circular drinking bottle, small spoon/fork set, suction bowl). He got 2 different Hallmark recordable books from his auntie/uncle and grandma/grandpa on my side. He was given the All the ways I love you read by grandma and grandpa and on the day you were born read by his auntie and uncle. You can see the type of books here: http://www.hallmarkcards.com.au/in-store/gifts/recordable-gifts (http://www.hallmarkcards.com.au/in-store/gifts/recordable-gifts)
They’ve very sweet for kids who have family that live far away and don’t get to see them often. C looks around for the person who’s voice he’s hearing when we look at the books together.
C is doing really well with his solids. His favs are cheese and meat!! He ate Christmas dinner the same as anyone else – turkey strips, roasted veggies, fresh cranberry sauce etc. He’s had lasagne, pasta, cheesy toast etc. He usually has oats in the morning with some fruit puree mixed in and maybe some raisins/sultanas, sometimes with yoghurt mixed in too. For lunch he’ll usually have some kind of fruit (watermelon, stone fruit, melon, mango) cut into fingers with some bread sandwich type thing or pasta and for dinner he eats whatever we are – stir frys, pastas, risotto, sausages, steak etc. He has suffered from some constipation though as he can easily chew meat and get it into his tummy but has a harder time with fruits/veggies so was blocking himself up. Now I buy pureed fruit to add to his oats and for desert etc to make sure he’s eating enough to keep him regular.
While we were away C became much more active – moving around in the cot a lot more (even in his sleeping bag!), started the continual rolling, moving backwards while on his tummy. I’m not sure he will do the whole up on all 4s crawling but we’ll see. I had a few people tell me they think he’s more likely to skip crawling and go straight to walking while we were away – I think he may commando crawl at least since he is already doing so backwards. He prefers to be upright and loves holding onto your hands and ‘walking’ around everywhere with your help.
We still don’t have any teeth although he is definitely teething now and has been for the last week or so. I still can’t see a whole lot but can feel something sharp now when he uses my fingers to chomp on.
Ive started doing C’s bedtime feed half BM and half formula in prep for him to be weaned. I will continue to do so until I see my FS on the 20th this month and see whether I have to fully wean him or whether I can keep one or two feeds until I start my FET cycle in March.
Has anyone started giving any thought to first bday parties? We are going with a little prince theme and have sorted out my colour scheme, decorations etc but am having a hard time coming up with food that fits into my theme. There are a few different ways to do it (have food that is shaped/coloured in your theme, have foods that stand for things in your theme (tomato juice being dragons blood for example or fruit skewers being dragons jewels) or using your childs name (each letter to stand for a different food (N for nut bars for example). I like the idea of the fruit skewers being dragons jewels but cannot for the life of me come up with any other food ideas that would go – anyone have any clever ideas?!?!? I am going to make cupcakes instead of a cake and may even make iced sugar cookies either for the party or as a take home treat.
How long is everyone’s bubs staying up for between sleeps these days?

[nikki08]

Earth - we're going to have a small casual birthday party for L just some family and close friends. I'll make a cute cake I think but other than that most of the food will probably be for the adults with a few finger foods for the little ones. We'll probably just have it at the local beach. We've been to quite a few bday parties this year for babies and they usually only last an hour maybe two tops before the kids starts climbing the walls and throwing tantrums :laughing:

C is doing really well with food! L hates meat, tried him on chicken, tuna and lamb he screws his face up and refuses it completely. He only wants vegetables or some fruits. He loves banana, apple and sometimes pear. He doesn't like peaches unless I sneak them in. I am now just going back to his favourites and will slowly introduce things again every so often so he has a chance to expand his limited palette.

[hopefulmama2b]

Hi Girls and Babies
Merry christmas and happy new year to all!
We are doing well! Had a great christmas, Billy got extremely spoilt and had a ball! He is loving the warm weather, loves the beach and the water. He is losing interest in his formula but is loving solids. Has breakfast (a banana or 1 weatbix with boiled cows milk) lunch (mashed vegies or a raffertys garden) and dinner (Mashed vegies with or without meat or raffertys garden) he is also snacking on a dry biscuit, rusk or some cheese. He pretty much eats anything and is nice and chubby so I am happy- funny, I got the "Your baby is sooo small" when he was a nb and now I get the "He's a big baby isn't he?" LOL I dont know how people think they can get off saying that I mean, I feel like saying- yes well, you're a bit fat aren't you?? LOL
Billy isn't crawling yet, well apart from on his back lol but he is sitting well and trying to stand a little.. and we still only have 2 teeth. Sleeping throughout the night about 9pm to 7:30am and has two sleeps during the day, one morning and one late afternoon.
Back to full time work for me probably middle of feb and I hate to say it.. but I'm looking forward to it! I ADORE Billy naturally but being a SAHM is NOT for me!

Oh and first birthday? Nothing too OOT, maybe a nautical theme cause I think Billy would made a cute little pirate or sailor.. and food will be easy, little finger food fish and chips, salt and pepper calamari.. and I want to made an octopus cake LOL.

[surfergal]

First Birthday party, we are heading to Sydney so M can finally meet DHs parents (her other grandparents) and will probably just have a family gathering there. However we will have a small party at my parents house with the rels from Brisbane, and it will just be a pink party. I am going to make her a number one cake, with pink frosting but nothing really flash..

M skipped her afternoon sleep for some reason refused to settle so now won't go to bed.. way overtired and she is up there doing her block like the old days.. :confused:.. oh well..

M enjoying solids, eating lots of vege and white meat (we don't eat red meat here) and enjoying it all..

Must head off.. try and work out what to do with M....

[hopefulmama2b]

Girls have any of your bubs started to be a little disinterested in the bottle or boob since introducing solids? Billy LOVES solids and he is losing interest big time in his bottle. Do your bubs drink water when its hot?

SO who is going back to ttc part 2 soon? earth you are aren't you? wishng is too I think.. please keep us all informed. We no longer have a frosty or frozen sperm. I will be 30 this year (yuck) so we will retouch on the topic in like 5 years but I am quite happy with one bambino.

[EarthAngel75]

Nikki: I envy you being able to have Ls birthday at the beach or outdoors anywhere really! It will be soooo cold down here there is no way that will ever be a possibility. I would love to have a party at the park somewhere with a petting zoo and have baby animals as a theme. We'll be having C's party at a hall owned by a local playgroup so it will be fully equipped for kids with toys etc to keep them happy and occupied. Are you giving L the meat as finger food? If not I'd try that as when he's in control of the situation he may decide he likes it.

Hopeful: I love your idea of a theme for Billy. I plan to use the pirate theme when C is a bit older as there are so many fun party games for it. Nautical theme is great for a first bday though as you can have all that yummy seafood for the adults to eat. Do you plan to try and find some sort of nautical outfit for Billy to wear? Ive seen some great nautical/sailboat stuff on etsy (http://www.etsy.com/listing/58951637/sailboatcustom-printable-digital-photo?ga_search_query=nautical&ga_search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_5416141 - same seller will do a whole custom party package that you print at home too. Here's an example in a circus theme: http://www.etsy.com/listing/63044720/under-the-big-topprintable-personalized). I'm hoping to use a digital package like this that I print and cut out (we have a laser printer at home so quite economical) to match my little prince theme. An octopus cake will be sooooo FUN! Are you going to have the cake shaped like an octopus?

surfer: we are having battles with C going to bed at night. I am pretty certain it is because he is over tired but he refuses to take an arvo catnap - so this week am going to be trying to get him to take a little nap in his cot in the late arvo as otherwise he is sooo over tired at the moment at bedtime (even when we tried to get him into bed before 6pm last night!) he just can't settle and ends up screaming. It often takes 45-60mins to get him to sleep. When he was younger he had no problems at all going from 230-3pm when he wakes up from his last nap until 630-7pm bedtime but now there is just no way he can.

C is still quite interested in his milk feeds but he is not yet 7mths. Around 8/9mths is when you should switch to having solids before milk if bubs is doing well on solids. I know many babies who became less interested in their milk around this time and I also know quite a few who didnt so just depends on bubs personality. It's nothing I would worry about unless you feel they arent getting enough fluid. C
does drink some water with his meals - although at the moment has great fun putting it into his mouth and then spitting it out LOL!!

I think wishing may already be on her way to ttc #2. We see the FS next week to get ready for our FET in march hopefully. C is now on formula for his bedtime feed so am only BFing 3x/day and will see what the FS about me being able to continue with what I'm doing until our actual FET. It's kind of scary to think I may be pg and have another baby by the end of this year though! I will definately keep you all posted on how it's going.

[nikki08]

Hopeful - L has gone off solids a bit lately (maybe it's the heat) but he is increasing his milk feeds again. It seems they chop and change back and forth. He doesn't drink water often but every now and then I give him some out of a cup and he takes it. It has to be an adult cup though he refuses the sippy cups.

Earth - I've tried finger food, he point blank refuses to chew, he shoves the food in then just sits there mouth frozen trying to work out what to do with it. He eats rusks (and I mean eats, not sucks) but the taste of meat or the smell he just can't stand at the moment. I guess he'll keep changing until he decides what he likes and doesn't like.

[hopefulmama2b]

Lol Nikki, Billy eats the rusks too but other than that not interested in finger food but I'm ok with that. I prefer feeding him anyway. Billy drinks from either his sippy cup or the mount franklin bottles lol. Billy loves meat though. I slow cook him up meals at the moment, either beef or lean chicken thighs, carrot, potato, pumpkin, peas teeny bit of stock, onion, then blend it. He loves it.

[angeleish]

HI everyone.

Seems like we all had a great Christmas. Happy new year to you all too!!

We had a wonderful Christmas. DS was spoilt and got heaps of presents from both friends and family. We had a fair amount of travel to do interstate and he coped so well with it. So proud of him.

He is still the king of catnapping but I'm learning to just deal with it and move on. He seems to cope okay with it so I don't think it is too much of a problem.

solids - he just loves his solids. Most foods are fine with him but he still isn't keen on scrambled eggs ...hmm. We're slowly introducing more finger foods. Toast is a hit for finger food as is cheese.

BF/Milk feeds - hopeful... DS is less interested these days too. I think it's because he loves his solids so much. He still loves his first BF and the over night feed (wish he didn't like this one so much ... lol). The other feeds are hit and miss though. I always try to get him to at least take one side per feed and if I'm worried about lack of milk then I just try to offer more often (this doesn't always work though)

ttc #2 - maybe this year??? Definitely not before DS is one. I think perhaps we will try towards the middle/end of this year. It is a little scary to think about possibly having two little munchkins running around but exciting at the same time. Our ttc plans are not set in concrete yet as there are a few things on the home front that may or may not influence our ttc plans (moving house etc)

1st birthday - eek.... talk of first birthdays already??? I have no idea really. I do know it will be low key with just close friends and family. It wont be overly fancy or elaborate but just a nice day to reflect on the past year with those who are special to us and DS.

[surfergal]

Well looks like everyones bubs are enjoying their solids.. M loves food, she came out with DH and I tonight to the local thai restaurant our first outing out for dinner as a family. She had dinner before we left home and I fed her desert at the restaurant which i took with me.. she then ate a heap of rice as well.. Her fave meal is lentil casserole.. (such a earth baby - like her mummah - earth mummah) and she also loves chicken too.. fruit is huge and scrambled eggs.

M still breastfeeding up to 5 times per day although some feeds like the day time ones are quick and she fusses, so not full feeds.. she loves her before bedtime feed the best.. and when she wakes in the night usually 430 am this one too.. which is good as she will often sleep in for a long period of time if she feeds then at least 630 am which is a great time..

All this talk of another baby has me thinking, but we don't have any embryos and i dont' want to do IVF again, so we will just have to sit pretty with the miracle we have.. I am to old 36 in september and my ovaries have taken such a beating with all the surgery i have had for my endo.

I am back to the gym in feb after our holiday, need to shed 15 kg to get back to my pre preggie frame..

[sparklesare]

hiya girls!!

Glad to see everyone is doing really well.

The boys are going well...growing fast and cruising along the furniture and getting up to all sorts of mischief...I love it but gosh I miss the downtime of newborns! :laughing:

Solids - I am still cooking all the boys meals, love Annabel Karmel, so have got really in to cooking for them and they love it. They pretty much eat anything except strawberries and berries, just not fans of them yet. Which is okay...cant expect them to love everything can we?

1st birthday - god I cant believe its so close.. Thank god I get a public holiday every year for the boys! We are having a big Mothers Group 1st Birthday for the babies with a KK type gift thing for each bub. There is 12 of us in my group and we have stuck togetgher like glue, which I like so looking forward to that. Just having in the local park and a bbq on a Sunday with all the dads to enjoy,. Will have a small family party on their actual birthday for the boys as it falls over Easter and Anzac Day. No themes or anything, just good food, a big cake and a candle for them both. :celebrate:

The boys are cruising furniture, crawling around and I have seriously baby proofed in the past few weeks. We still go to swimming and also Gymbaroo which we love.

We are heading overseas in July for a holiday...should be fun with the pair of them! :eek:

[nikki08]

Good to hear everyone seems to be doing well!

Sparkles - glad to hear you are enjoying the boys but I hear you on the lack of downtime. L is go go go all day and is so active. He always wants to be doing something and has now started babbling too which is extra cute. He says mumma and babba (which we haven't worked out yet). Good work on booking a holiday overseas, I'm sure the boys will be on their best behaviour. DH and I are just discussing a holiday overseas but not sure when. We do want to fly before he is 2 though. Where are you headed?

Surfer - M sounds like she is doing really well on solids! L is chewing his food now and loves feeding himself but he still won't venture past pumpkin, apple/peach or banana and of course cereal. I have given up on meat for the time being but tried mashed potato with cheese today, he gave me the most horrified look and promptly spat it out, followed by scraping his tongue to make sure none stayed on there. I nearly fell over laughing! He still loves his milk and yoghurt though.

Angeleish - I'm the same, low key first birthday with friends and family. I'll make an effort to bake a nice cake but with all that sugar I probably won't let L eat any, mean mummy I am :laughing:. I can't believe this time last year I was counting down the weeks until his birth and now he is approaching his first birthday! The time has flown too fast in a lot of ways.

[EarthAngel75]

Angel: C loves his toast fingers and cheese too. So easy and also so good for them.

surfer: I'd love your lentil casserole recipe :) I really want to get into using lentils/beans more. So much easier/cheaper for me to find organic than meat. Oh and you're not OLD!! :) Im 36 in May :laughing:

Sparkles: Sounds like you and the boys are doing well :) How do you find doing Gymbaroo with 2 by yourself? Sounds like you have a wonderful MG as well - that first birthday party for all of them should be a lot of fun and what a great photo opportunity. Good luck with your o/s trip in July :) We much preffered having a free seat for Corbin then when we had to have him in our lap - luckily a flight attendant bent over backwards to get the one free seat on the whole flight for us (she got a LOT of people to move seats).

Nikki: I'm not letting C eat any cake/cupcakes from his birthday either. I don't do sugar with children under the age of 2 at all.

[Cat21]

Hi Everyone and Happy New Year (although not so new anymore!),

It's been ages since I've posted - a combination of returning to work and lack of sleep (still). Things have improved on the sleep front which is fantastic although we've never had a night without an overnight feed. I don't mind the feeds at night so much but DH is now doing them via on a bottle on the nights before I have to work.

We had a great Christmas - lots of presents and cuddles all round and great pics.

N is still having four feeds during the day and the one overnight - he does love his morning one the best and the one when I get home from work :) which is lovely for me. Solids are going well too which is great - another fan of yogurt here too! We've been having the Vaalia baby yogurt - what does everyone else use?

First birthdays seem like ages away but they will creep up! We're also going to go without a theme and concentrate more on good food and drink. We'll probably keep it rather small given it'll be almost winter and bound to be wet and cold! I think these first birthdays are more for the adults to celebrate making it through the first year! I'm also wondering whether to let N have cake - very mean mummy here too, Nikki! Do I really want him bouncing off the walls all night??? :hyper:

It's wonderful to hear about your bubs - Sparkles and Nikki - love the cruising! They must be so active! How's the swimming going? We start lessons in February - can't wait! N loves water so it'll be fantastic for all of us!

Surfer - same here with the bfing. When I'm around, N is happy to feed often but trying to get him into a "routine" so it's easier on DH when I'm at work. Agree re TTC - I'm about your age and we have to think about it soon but would be happy if nature took its course rather than go through IVF again - especially given the $$$ now.

Angel - how are you goign with the catnapping? We're finally getting some decent day sleeps here. Not everyday but sometimes a big 2 hour stretch. It's amazing. Although I'm the queen of getting stuff done within a 45 minute block as that's all I expect!

Hopeful - how'd you go with work in December? I'm finding it hard - I miss N so much and my heart isn't quite in it! I hope this changes soon!

Earth - good luck with your TTC#2 - have you met with your FS yet?

Has anyone noticed their bubs not staying in size 0 for long? We're just starting to move from 00s and noticed that I'm not getting much life out of 0s! 00s have lasted for months but I think I'll just buy 1s from now on!

Hope you are all having a lovely week,

Cat

[nikki08]

Cat - I was all set to start working again when L was 7 months old but now he is nearly 9 months and I'm still not ready. I do work on Mondays from home and some bits and pieces throughout the week but like a few of us here I'm not sure if there will be a #2 so I want to spend as much time with him while he is young as I can. We also feed L Vaalia baby yoghurt or Gippsland Full Fat. He loves either, he'll also eat adult yoghurt if we are eating it because when it comes to yoghurt he's a greedy guts.

You'll love swimming, L loves his swims and it's so much fun watching them learn a new skill.

Cat / Earth - Regarding the cake, my sister gave her little boy a tiny bit of frosting from the cake on his first birthday and because he never ate sugar normally he did bounce off the walls, then he became very cranky (combined with all the attention) and eventually ended up sparko on the sofa while the adults celebrated his first birthday :celebrate:

[hopefulmama2b]

Whoops guess I am the bad mumma, already have given Billy a taste of chocolate and cake LOL. Doesn't really make him hypo at all actually and he likes the sweet taste but I think he loves his savoury foods more to be honest.

Cat- how is work going? Nice to see you on here! Billy is wearing size 1's in a lot of things already, mainly all in one suits as he is chubby yes but very long as well. I can still get him into some 000 stuff but so I guess all sizes and brands are different. We are averaging size 0 for now. Yes it would be easy to fall natural hey? With my DH's vas if I turned up UTD now he would be like HEY.. whats going on lol.
Nikki- Billy is a massive babbler too- no mumma but lotsa bada and dada and rarara and gaga lol.
Sparkle- Billy eats pretty much everything too and since I am at home now till middle of next month-ish I am cooking all his meals too and really enjoying it.
Surfer- You are not too old! I am with you but. just enjoying my one little miracle lol.

[sparklesare]

Hi girls,

CAT: I give the boys the King Island full fat yoghurt with some fruit through it. Ive not tried the Vaalia one, but a few in my MG said its excellent. Good to see you around, hope work is going okay for you?

Nikki: Yeah the boys are non stop now...a few stacks going on when they get a little carried away with enthusiasm with this cruising but its good fun watching them learning all these new things. We are heading over to London Italy and France. A friend of DH is turning 40, and he lives in London now, but having his birthday in Italy so we are all going there. The boys are coming which will be good.

Earth: I take my Mum to Gymbaroo, you need the extra person to assist so I take her along every week.

Hopeful: There are days when I get sick of the cooking for the boys, but I enjoy it like you. Some days I wish babies could eat take aways like us!! So easy and simple!!

Other than that things are going well. Cant believe how quickly the babies are all growing. Just think this time last year girls we were well and truly getting very over it...I know I was!;)

[angeleish]

hopeful - don't worry, DS has had some sugary treats here too!! Not all that often, but every now and then. He has had bites of cupcake, ice cream, danish etc. Maybe a little naughty but soo cute and fun!!

DS is mostly in 0 but some 00 here. He is tall but his legs are short (long torso), so jeans always seem extra long.

This week has been a huge week for us. DS has cracked his two top teeth (now has 4) and is still teething so I think more are on the way. He's also now finally moving forward. Not quite crawling but more like a worm. He's getting quicker and quicker by the day and the poor dog seems to be the target. DH and I are off to buy baby gates this week to separate the two (DS doesn't understand the concept of gentle and has managed to get a few handfuls of fur on various occasions. So far the dog has been patient but I'm not convinced that will always be the case!!)

cat - great to see you around. How's the working going? Are you full time or part time? Glad to hear that the sleep is improving. :highfive: As for our cat napping it is still happening here, but thankfully not quite so much. Generally he does 30 mins in the morning and then a longer one (1.5hrs) in the afternoon. Of course this changes all of the time. Some days he still only cat naps but he seems to cope.

We start swimming at the end of the month. Over summer we've already been swimming a few times and DS loves it so I can't wait for the lessons.

As for yoghurt DS usually has the baby Vaalia. Today we headed into the city and he had some mixed with fruit from David Jones. He loved that too.

sparkles - Can't believe how active your boys are. I agree it is fun to watch... must be a blast with two (although very exhausting too!!). The travel sounds awesome. What lucky boys you have !!

nikki - the babble is great isn't it!! DS loves his voice! We've recently had my niece visit. She is 15 months older and it is hilarious watching the two interact verbally. She is very verbal and has heaps of words but will happily copy his babble which always makes DS laugh!! Fun times!

I too can't believe how quickly time is going. I'm really loving this age (but have been saying that since he was about 3 months :laughing:). As far as I'm concerned this first year is going to be over way too quickly. Sometimes I just wish we had a pause button!

[happy dance]

Hi everyone,

It is so great to hear that all your bubs are doing so well.

C is really comming to life. He is now doing the comando style suffle on his tummy and from time to time is crawling. It is so nice to see but gosh you have to be quick with him as he attempts to crawl of the side of the bed in an instant and is getting into everything.

I found that C has decreased his solid intake over the last one to two weeks. He was eating heaps and now eats about half as much. I am wondering if he needed the extra food for a growth spurt and now doesnt need as much.

angeleish, C has two bottom teeth, they started comming through over the christmas break and you can really see them now. No more gummy smile.

Hopeful, C has had the odd sweet thing and I havent found he is hyper with a little sugar. I think it is fine to have the odd treat.

C is in anything from 000's to size one. I find the sizes vary so much. He has a little skinny waist and long chubby legs and arms.

Cat, I have been back at work for a while. I have to admire both the stay at home mums and the working mums. Personally I found it tough staying at home full time with C. I enjoy my independence and find work very rewarding so I think working part time is a great balance for me.

Nikki, C has always been a big talker. I is great to hear him say ba ba ba, ma ma ma, da da da and he tends to humm a bit. He also seems to verbalise when he is a bit frustrated which is an irritating whingey sound.

C also loves walking with my support, we were playing soccer today....I was swingin him around to kick the ball which he loved.

As for number two I will be doing a FET cycle in Feb. I have two frosties that I would like to give a chance. I will see how that cycle goes before I think any further. I saw my FS in Oct who recommended waiting three months from when I finish breast feeding (to give my body time to build up my uterus lining). I am currently 33 and given it took me about three years to concieve C I didnt want to wait to long before trying for number two

[nikki08]

HappyDance - Good luck with your FET, hopefully now your body has been pregnant it will be ready to go for number two with no fuss :) My FS said that his patients often manage two pregnancies out of one cycle even where other entire cycles have failed because the quality of the eggs was often similar. I'm hoping it works like that for me too when I decide to go back. I'll keep everything crossed for you :fingerscrossed:

Angeleish - I think L might be getting his two bottom teeth, he is nearly 9 months old and still has a gummy smile :laughing: I love the babble and I find if I copy L he babbles more and tries to copy me back. I love the squeals too although DH seems to get most of those, L gets very excited when his Dad finishes work.

Sparkles - we were supposed to go to the US but I've told DH that I might wait until L is older. So we think we might keep our next holiday domestic, not sure where yet though. Your trip sounds amazing! I'd love to go back to Europe for a holiday too but since we bought a house it seems like all our money and time is going into renovations.

Hopeful - L has tried a bit of ice-cream but he wasn't a fan, he doesn't really have a sweet tooth as yet. My nephew was different, he'd go nuts for ice-cream but L just looks at me funny when I give him a taste as if to say, "why would I eat that..." :p Mind you at the moment all he'll eat is pumpkin and banana with the odd jar of food thrown in. I've given up cooking at the moment because everything I make him he rejects at the moment. He used to eat just about everything now he'll eat hardly anything. He seems happy is he is feeding himself a banana of pieces of pumpkin or sweet potato though so I'll just leave him be for now.

[angeleish]

Nikki - I don't blame you on not cooking if L is fussy at the moment. DS is a pretty good eater but he did go through a short phase of being fussy and it was really hard to go to great lengths to prepare a meal that he would only refuse. For that reason we went through a stage of using a lot of the rafferty's garden mix. We still use these (especially when traveling) but I try to keep a combination of home made and shop stuff.

Speaking of rafferty's garden - has any one else tried the 10 month+ range. There is Italian Lasagne, bolognase, shepherds pie, casserole and rissoni mix. DS really loves them. They have a few more lumps and bumps but nothing too hard for little mouths.

As for gummy smiles I'm actually a little sad that DS is getting so many teeth so soon. I just loved his gummy smile. He just had two bottom teeth for so long and it was so cute. This week I've organised a small professional photo shoot of him before he gets too many more teeth (it will be a surprise for DH's birthday too!)

happy - good luck on the FET. You'll have to keep us posted on how you go. I'm finding myself getting more and more clucky by the day to try for #2 but as yet DH and I are yet to decide when to start trying again. We only have one frosty so will use that first, then try naturally for a brief time but go back to an IVF stim cycle not too long after if we have no luck. I'll be 34 this year :eek: so given how long it took for us to get DS don't want to wait too long. I'm hoping what Nikki's FS has said is true and our frozen embie comes through for us!! (thanks for sharing that Nikki :fingerscrossed:)

As for returning to work - I have managed to negotiate another year off with my boss (despite me initially thinking this wouldn't be possible). Being a SAHM can be tough at times and sometimes I am envious of those who are returning to work. I guess I feel torn either way. If I went back to work I would wish I was at home and now I am at home there are times when I wish I was at work..... I think working decisions are a tough call for us mummies! I do have to say though that as a teacher it is nice not to have to be thinking about "back to school" this week!! :p

[happy dance]

Nikki, I really hope your FS is right. I have mixed feelings about going back for a FET as I found IVF so life consuming that I hope I dont feel that way again.


C has really gone off his food too. I was trying to cook him meals but as he kept refusing I thought I would give cooking a miss for a while and try again in a few weeks. I gave C some scrambled egg on the weekend which he really enjoyed. I also find he eats more when we are all eating at the table together.

Have you found L is getting really strong at the moment. I am finding I really have to have a good hold of C otherwise he just wants to take off. He wriggles all the time during nappy and changes so I have to be quick. I find giving him something to hold while changing his nappy keeps in on his back long enough for me to change his nappy.

angeleish, I will be 34 too this year. It really is hard to decide when to start for number two. I am doing so with reservations due to my past experience but I would also prefer to bite the bullet and get starting without thinking about it to much.

I really hope Nikki is right and we both get BFP. My FS did say something similiar, she said people tend to get pregnant easier with the second she believes women are more mentally open to becomming pregnant.

Lucky you for getting an extra year off work. This time is so precious so it is great you get to enjoy it.

[nikki08]

HD and Angeleish - I hope my FS is right too because the older L gets the more open I am to having another one. I still have 7 or 8 frosties left so I really think I want to give them a go. Plus I would love L to have a sibling if it's possible.

Regarding the foods, I have stopped letting it frustrate me. L eats what he wants, he loves one thing one day and refuses it the next. Yoghurt is a popular choice and so is banana though so I figure if he wants to survive on those and milk for a while then so be it. Sometimes he'll want what I have so I'll let him try new things. L is the same, he loves to eat at the table with us now but at the moment he is in bed by 6pm and we eat dinner a bit later. I have thought about trying eggs, do you do scrambled yolks or the whole egg?

Nappy changes are a nightmare, L is constantly trying to twist around and sit up or just plain throw himself off the table! I have to be fast, entertaining and provide a toy for distraction. If I miss any of those I am in trouble :rolleyes:

[angeleish]

ahh yes, the super quick nappy change. I've given up on the change table and now only change him on the floor. I usually have everything ready to go so I can be nice and speedy... and a few toys for distraction. Quite often he is crawling away while I'm still doing up the pop studs on his grow suit!!!

With eggs Nikki we do scrambled (1 egg, 1 tablespoon of milk and 1 tablespoon of cheese - all cooked in a small amount of butter). It took a few goes but he is starting to like it now. He likes egg yolk the most so will happily eat toast dipped in runny yolk but for some reason (perhaps texture?) scrambled eggs took a little longer for him to like.

Great attitude with the food Nikki. You're right he will try more when he is ready - plus at least he really likes the healthy stuff. Gotta be happy with that!

I must say DS being mobile is a lot of fun to watch. He's really only started moving in the last week and it is fascinating watching him and seeing him explore things that until now he's only been able to look at from afar. Who needs a TV when you have a curious 8.5 month old!!? :laughing:

[happy dance]

Nikki, I have just scrambled a whole egg with a little milk.

I have an appt with the child health nurse on Friday so I might see if I can get any tips about encouraging C to eat more. I just find if he is not interested in one thing I will offer something else a little while later to see if he is hungry or not and just refusing food because he doesnt like something?

Congrats on having so many frosties. It would be nice not to have to do a stim cycle again.


I am a bit like angeleish and do most nappy changes on the floor. I just dont trust myself with C on the change table any more.

angeleish, I am finding I am spending more time supervising my little bub. Gone are the days that you could leave him on the floor for a few minute as I was pretty confident he wouldnt go anywhere. He is able to make it up a little step and shuffle himself to the front door. Time for baby proofing me thinks

[nikki08]

HD & Angeleish - I agree whole heartedly who has time for anything with a baby on the move. I have to watch L all day long, which is why he has a big playpen where he can safely play now. L has been crawling properly for two months now and is walking along furniture at increasing speed, even doing it one handed. It's amazing how fast they learn a new skill. Today he almost let go, I'm not ready for that yet!!

I hardly watch any TV anymore, in fact I barely know what's on. I start watching a program then get distracted by him or some other chores. By the end of the day of full on play I end up going to bed not long after L does. He does love to be active and on the move from 6am - 6pm. While it's hard work, I do love it too :goodvibes:

I took him to daycare today to see what it was like. I quite liked it there and he loved it. I think I'll get him enrolled by his first birthday.

[angeleish]

ooh babies on the move... DS has only been moving for 2 weeks and only started a proper crawl in the last few days but this afternoon he decided to pull himself up into standing using a chair!! :eek: OMG so not ready for that. Here's hoping he forgets that skill tomorrow and stays a contented crawler for a little longer.

We baby proofed our living area on the weekend so when I need to get a job or two done I just leave him there. Our living area is pretty central so it is quite easy to keep an eye on him from the kitchen etc. Also it is carpeted so makes for a nice cushioned place for him to muck around in.

Nikki - your little man has always been a super charged energiser baby. I can't believe he is almost ready to let go of the furniture!! Where have our little babies gone to? I'm dreading DS getting any bigger.... I just want him as a baby for longer please! Glad that the day care seemed good. Half the battle with returning to work is getting good care.

happy - let us know if you get any tips from the child nurse re getting DS to eat more. Our DS is a great eater but I know from experience with friends children that this could change at any time so wouldn't mind some tips just in case!

Well I'm with Nikki on the early nights. I used to be very much a night owl but those days are gone. DS still wakes for a feed overnight and until that habit changes my early nights will continue.

[EarthAngel75]

Hi girls :)

Whoever was asking about yoghurt - we use Jalna here as there is no added sugar and they also do a biodynamic organic yoghurt which I mix a small amount into almost everything DS eats. Ive never bothered with the baby yoghurts.

For anyone whose bubs are less interested in milk feeds etc - i recently read on a few different forums of ppl dropping a milk feed anywhere from 7-8mths (this is particularily true of bottle fed babies it seems - so from 4 feeds down to 3) so did a bunch of searching in my books for info on this to confirm. I confirmed in one of my books that yes it is ok and common to drop a milk feed anywhere from 7mths as long as solids are well and truely established and bubs is eating a wide and varied diet. C has been a lot less interested in his 3pm feed so as of Sunday I've dropped it and replaced it with a snack and water and he doesnt mind at all. He's started drinking a lot more water too recently - can finish a whole sippy cup full throughout the day particularily if it's hot outside.

Cat: good to hear from you :) C is wearing a mix of 00 and 0. Most of his 00 bodysuits don't fit anymore unless they're from the USA (bigger sizing). His Aussie cheaper 0's fit well right now but his USA 6-12m stuff is still roomy and will easily make it thru the warmer months we have left.

angel: YAY for your ds being on the move! Although I'm sure tiring for you I bet its still so exciting. Sounds like DS is going to be one of those bubs who has a full set of teeth by the time they're 1! One of my friends from mothers group's dd was like that. I really wish ds had a few more teeth as it would help him eat the foods he wants to eat more easily.

Happy dance: The one thing that is really pointed out in the book I bought about baby led weaning is that a babies caloric needs VARY each and every day. Some days they will eat a lot and others hardly a thing and you are meant to trust that your baby knows how much food they need and that they will eat when they want/need to and to not force the issue. My ds sometimes eats so much i dont know where it all goes, then some days he doesnt eat much at all. Sometimes he eats a lot for breakfast and other days he barely touches it. Good luck with your FET. I am hoping to do a FET in march. I have heard that you are more likely to get a BFP in the first year after having given birth - so lets hope that is true for us both :)

Ive tried a few of the different older baby foods that are supposed to be lumps and bumps (was particularily interested in the bubs organic super food range) but have been rather unimpressed by what they tend to call lumpy. To ds and I it's still very smooth compared to what he would normally eat. Now I only buy the organic fruit ones as I cant find anywhere reliable to buy actual organic fruit from at the moment.

C is active on the change table too - but ive put a mobile above it which hangs down quite low which seems to keep him occupied long enough for me to change his nappy.

Nikki: Id put a bet on L walking sometime in his 9th month :D and how cute that he still has a gummy smile. Here's hoping he's a good teether. C is not - his first tooth is still not all the way thru and it's been poking out of the top of his gums since the end of December!

DS has stopped the baby babbling - for the time being anyways and now actually has conversations (with words i cant understand lol). He's been saying something that sounds like Doi Doi for a few weeks now whenever he gets quite tired. It's the only time he uses the word so it obviously means something to him but we havent figured it out yet - though I've been thinking it means dummy maybe as I tend to call his dummy his dum dum.

[nikki08]

Earth - I just prefer the portioned tubs of Vaalia Baby Yoghurt because if he doesn't eat it often enough the big tubs just go off. I've thrown out too many tubs so now I just buy the small tubs. I have tried Jalna, Gippsland and one other (I forget) he loved all of them.

Not sure what L is saying but he seems adamant he knows what he is talking about, especially when he chats to his toys. He says brrr when I give him frozen treats which is cute and baba, mama and a few other noises that I can't really distinguish yet.

Angeleish - I try and keep the house baby friendly and as he gets older I'll need to do more work on it again but at the moment the playpen is my saviour. He loves playing in there too, all his toys are there and he happily chats to his toys and stuffed toys as if he is having some very serious and private conversations ;)

Looks like we have two bottom teeth, I can see them both and and they clink his spoon when I feed him. They are not fully through yet but they've broken the gum and he didn't even give a hint he was teething.

[angeleish]

Well done to L on cracking his first two teeth without any fuss!! :cheerleader2:DS also gave us no problems for the first two, his top two were a little more problem. I'm quite sure he's on his way to getting more now as he is still dribbling like crazy and having extra "wake ups" during the night. I love the way you described DS having serious conversations with his toys - our boy does this too. This morning he spent ages playing with a Thomas The Tank Engine toy pushing it back and forwards.... DH was so proud of him playing like a grown up boy.

So today's question - how often are you guys up during the night? Do you feed overnight still? I don't mind the night feed if it is once per night but lately with teething it is twice a night. If it is before midnight I try to get DH to resettle but this is hit and miss and will more often than not result in us giving up and me BF him. I know he doesn't need the night feeds for nutrition as he eats sooo much during the day... but it is hard when he gets so upset at us re-settling and with the warmer weather it is hard to say an outright "no" to BF as I am always wondering if he is just thirsty. I know he finds the overnight feeds comforting but I'm just starting to wonder how long we will continue to have overnight "cuddles"??? He will happily drop a feed during the day but the ones overnight are a whole other issue :p !

earth - I agree the shop food "lumps" are not as lumpy as our home made options - but I still find them useful for when we are out and about. If we are out I give him the shop mix and also some of my own lunch to try to encourage him to eat "regular" food. How cute that your DS has a word (even if you don't quite know what it is). I must admit I love listening to DS babble but haven't sat to listen to see if there are any consistencies with his babble and certain actions/objects.

[nikki08]

Angel - I've just started a new routine with L because he was waking too often. Some nights he now sleeps through without waking once for a feed, but other times (more commonly) he'll wake once around midnight for a quick feed. I think it's thirst not hunger because he has a quick drink then settles back very fast. Basically I started just trying to settle him without picking him up and have found most of the time this works now and he has started to understand that nighttime is sleep time. I feed him around 6pm, then sometimes a midnight feed and then again when he wakes in the morning around 5:30am, then we get up together. L won't drink water as a rule yet, so I don't bother with water in the middle of the night.

[EarthAngel75]

Nikki: Good work on L's two front teeth! Lucky you with no signs of it coming either. He must be a good teether. C is definately not. Ive had to resort to using teething gel on his gums which i really hoped i wouldnt have to resort too.

I'm not up overnight at all here - but C's last feed of the day (6-630pm) is now a bottle of formula (he drinks anywhere from 150-240ml before bed. C is also a massive eater - I mean he can finish a whole 250ml size bowl of something like pasta with mince sauce and then have almost another whole bowl full of yoghurt and fruit (this happens between 430-530pm).

I do know from mothers group that most mums whose bubs kept feeding overnight after 6m continued to do so (became a habit more than about needing the feed) until they were over one when the parents had to intervene and do the whole controlled crying/giving a bottle of water etc to wean them off of this. It takes a week of hard work usually with lots of screaming and tears but then you'll have a bubs who sleeps through. One mother from MG couldnt manage to do it at home so ended up at sleep school for help.

There is also supposedly a sleep regression of some form that occurs at 9 months. Havent looked it up in ages so can't remember why it occurs (maybe something to do with seperation anxiety?)

How was everyone's Australia Day with their bubs? DH and I took C down to the great aussie breakfast on the lake, then walked over to the mall to do a bit of shopping and then headed back to the lake for a few hours for a picnic lunch before it got too hot as was a hot and humid 37c in the ACT yesterday.

[angeleish]

earth - I am quite sure that DS's overnight feeding is more of a habit than a need. I think he finds it comforting. Like your boy he is also a huge eater. The other night for dinner he had some lamb casserole, a huge bowl of fruit, some yoghurt and a cheese stick. He then polished off some banana with me. So I know he doesn't really need to feed over night.

I've told hubby that after summer when the nights are cooler if he hasn't stopped the overnight feeds then we may have to get tough with him. I'm just reluctant to now though as I know he is getting more teeth. Also, when it is hot I don't want to refuse him a BF. So after summer we will try to offer him water instead and just try for the resettle. I know it will be hard as he gets so cranky when we try ATM. DH and I have already agreed that we will start it on a Friday night so that he can do some of the re-settling and not have to worry about getting up early for work the next day. It will also mean we have the weekend to try to rest of need be. DH is aware he will need to do a fair amount of this weaning as once DS sees me he gets so determined to feed.

I'm not looking forward to it though (i'm hoping he'll stop the overnight feeds by himself before then - unlikely I know!!).

Nikki - Before midnight I try to get DH to resettle but it is very hit and miss. DS was doing a few sleep throughs a while ago but hasn't done so in quite a while. Usually if I feed him he'll settle really quickly, however last night he didn't. It took me 1.5 hrs to get him back to sleep :sleeping: DS does like water so I think I'll offer that instead when we wean the night feeds.

Thanks for sharing your overnight sleeping patterns girls - although I must admit - I'm slightly jealous!!!:hissy::laughing:

[nikki08]

Angeleish - don't be too jealous I was up about 10 times last night (or at least it felt that way). It was a huge day for him yesterday and he woke up hungry and thirsty. Normally he just wants a feed for comfort but last night I could tell he really wanted either a drink or food. I suspect he was probably hungry because he'd been so tired at dinner he didn't eat enough.

Earth - I know with L the feeding is more habit than need and he's actually taken quite well to me pulling the feeds and just replacing them with settling techniques. He doesn't eat as much as C does though and sometimes he just seems to need that extra feed around 10pm. The doctor basically said if they go off their food which seems to happen with most kids from time to time just make sure they make up for it in milk, so that's what is happening. Luckily he has started to show more interest in food again the last few days, so fingers crossed it's a phase.

I can assure you that sleep regression around 9 months (or thereabouts) is real in this house. I think it's to do with an increased awareness of separation and also the fact that they are more mobile and they wake themselves up by being too active in this light sleep cycles. Slowly L is learning that if he wakes he is capable of relaxing and going back to sleep, but around this age they do tend to have night terrors too where they scream and look like they are awake but they are actually still asleep. It's hard to tell but I find if I lie L down when he screams and he just instantly stops and goes back to sleep then he wasn't really awake to start with.

[angeleish]

nikki - sleep has regressed here too. DS was always consistent in only waking once a night. Now, it is at least twice. For some of his wake ups he is able to put himself back to sleep but others he needs a feed and usually he will then go straight back to sleep. Recently though he has been less able to re-settle himself. I think he is having nightmares/terrors too as often when he wakes now he does so with a loud scream rather than his usual gradual and gentle wind up. ......Hopefully this passes soon.

Also, I've noticed he is more difficult to get back to sleep. In the past a BF was a sure way to get him back to sleep but now it doesn't always work. I think this is in part separation anxiety and part teething!!

:coffee: mantra to myself at 4am when he wont settle.... "this too shall pass"

Nikki - I hope tonight is much much better for you.

[happy dance]

Earth, I have to agree with you about bubs only eating as much as they need.

How are you finding your bub with lumpy foods. C seems to prefer pureed foods. He will nibble on the odd rusk. He enjoys rice ones that tend to disolve when you eat them. He can nibble at toast although I dont think he consumes much of it. I just dont think he is ready for foods that need a lot of chewing. Whenever I have given him something that requires a lot of chewing (like a smal piece of meat (ie about 1/2 the size of my little finger nail) I see it in a few minutes as it makes him projectile vomit. So either the lumps are too big or something else is going on. Any suggestions would be great.

Nikki, L might be up more due to his teeth. When C's bottom teeth were comming through he was really unsettled for a couple of nights. I remember putting him down to sleep around 6:30pm, he slelpt unitl 9:00ish and then I stayed up with him until 1:00am he slept until 3:00am and then he was awake at 5:00am. He did a similar thing the following night and then back to normal.

I find C prefers spending time with me rather than DH. If I put him in DH's arms he tends to start vocalising. As he is now mobile with his comando suffle he is now starting to follow me around the house. Very cute for me but sad for DH as he is not feeling loved.

Glad you found a day care you are happy with. C loves day care which I am really relieved about. The staff indicated that if a child under three years is put into care for about 2 days per week or more they are more developed and have better language skills than a three year old child who has not been in care (maybe they are paid to say that to make me feel better about putting C into care????.

Angeleish, C's sleeps vary at night. He might sleep through a couple of nights a week, then other nights he is up one to two times per night. There are times when he might resettle and other times I get up to feed him. I find if I am exhausted I just get up and feed him ASAP as I know I will be back in bed sooner. Other times I just leave him for a few minutes and see if the noise increases (then I think he is hungry) or if it stops then he has managed to get himself back to sleep.

I have also found C has learnt the art of standing with the assitance of furnture. I cant believe they can go from shuffling to standing so quickly. Our lounge room is reasonably kid friendly so I often leave him in there to have a quick shower or make some food (can see him from the kitchen). However, they can give you a fright. I was having a quick shower last week and heard this big scream. I came running out of the shower covered in soap just to find C lying on the carpet.....Unsure if something happened or he was just wanting attention.

[Cat21]

Hi All!

Thanks for all your well wishes - work is going well but I still miss N soooo much. Hopeful - I'm envious that you're looking forward to work so much! I'm looking forward to the day that I look forward to work more than wanting to be with N! We're still waiting to hear back re childcare - it's hard that one of us has to be home to look after N and, for now, that's DH. It's great for all of us we both have a very special relationship with our boy.

Thanks for all the hints on yoghurt - I also find the portions easy especially to throw into the cooler bag when we go out but I've just tried N on Jalna tonight (after my sis also recommended it) and he loves it too so that'll help add some variety to N's diet. He's a massive fan of ricotta too and I mix that in with his casseroles and vegies. No problem with calcium intake here!

N is still waking overnight for a feed but he gets a bottle if it's a work night for me - DH is fantastic at settling without offering a feed and is systematic about making sure N is truly hungry or thirsty before offering. Nevertheless, I'm sure it's still a habit too but, like Angelish, I'm also reluctant to go hard core while it's still warm and humid overnight. I'm also reassured by my MCHN, other bfing mums and enough info in the literature that suggests that overnight feeds are not uncommon before 1 year old - especially for bf babies. While we've NEVER had a sleep through, we actually find the nights when N wakes up only once as wonderful - given we've had so many sleep problems in the past.

Speaking of sleep - when we were in sleep school there were 2 bubs at 6 months, 2 at 9 months and 2 over 1 and a half. The 9 months were the hardest work - separation anxiety had well and truly set in and the bubs couldn't even bear it when their mums were out of sight even for a second. Meanwhile N and his other 6 month old buddy were quite happy to be in the company of the nurses while we had to get their food ready etc. The separation anxiety during the day obviously translated into the same issues overnight.

Angeleish - at my tiredest, I too repeat the mantra "this will pass, he's only little once" but it does make me wonder that, if we are blessed with #2, do we then get a good sleeper? I'm fortunate I don't know anyone who has two shocking sleepers in a row - please don't tell me if you know anyone otherwise!

Nikki - re solids - N is a lot less interested in solids on really warm days so maybe your extra heat and humidity isn't helping? On the hottest days, I don't even bother heating up anything - I stick to cold foods like yoghurt, fruit, ricotta etc. N loves his water so my biggest issue is making sure he doesn't fill up on water! I also give him big icecubes to suck on and play with - of course, like me, he loves his water!

Angeleish - are you starting swimming lessons soon? We start in a couple of weeks - can't wait!

HD - N is also just happy to suck on a rusk - he's not too keen on getting stuck into them. No teeth here so maybe that'll change when he gets his first chompers!

Earth - quiet Oz Day here - a lazy day at home, just the three of us. After lots of busy weekends, was nice to have a pj day at home!

Oh, as for words, we get very clear "Daddy", "Mummy" and, thanks to his Fisher Price toy, "Hello". Of course, he doesn't know what "hello" is but it completely freaked us out when he said it for the first time! N can also now "hum" along to the "ABC" - I swear he's got the musical gene that runs strong through my family. Otherwise, he's also a massive babbler to the point where he has people in stitches in the market or when we go for a walk. When DH and I talk to each other, N goes crazy yakking away and talking over the top of us - social butterfly!

Anyway, best get some sleep - thanks to you all for your continual postings - I don't have much time to respond these days but love keeping up with your little guys!

[nikki08]

Cat - wow what a talker you have there. Our words are less clear but mum gets screamed at the top of his lungs if I don't respond to him quickly enough. I have to agree regarding the 9 months, as soon as L sees me he whinges, if someone else holds him while I am in the same room he whinges until I take him and if I leave the room even if he is happy playing he screams. I've been told once I'm gone for a few minutes he is extremely well behaved and hardly ever whinges so he must be saving all his whinging for his mummy.

Angeleish - I agree with Cat, some days I am exhausted but then I look at him and think one day I'll really miss this age so I try not to wish time away even if he is pushing all my buttons.

[angeleish]

Cat - I'm not counting on a good sleeper for #2. I figure if I aim low in my sleep expectations for #2 then I might get pleasantly surprised!!! I think DS takes after his mummy in the sleep department (ie light sleeper who doesn't need much sleep to recharge his batteries). Here's hoping the next takes after his/her dad (great sleeper who could sleep through any amount of noise and loves a sleep in)! As for swimming we start on Sunday - can't wait!! (Perfect day for it to as it is meant to be 40 here in Melbourne then!!)

So glad that N is sleeping better and well done to his daddy on pushing him to resettle without a feed unless absolutely necessary!!

cat & Nikki - As much as DS is being a little challenging at night I still find myself wanting to pause him at this age. I can't believe we are approaching the 9 month mark. Soon our little ones will have spent more time on the "outside" than with us while pregnant!

Happy - lumpy foods are okay here. Finger foods are more hit and miss. I usually feed him my lumpy purees and then at the end of the meal offer some finger foods to help him learn about feeding himself and food textures. For example after breakfast (weet-bix) I give him some toast and vegemite.... he eats a bit of the toast but also has a great time playing with it. After lunch and dinner I give him some cheese or some banana (or the like) and once again he eats some and plays with some. Our MCHN said that finger foods are not just about how much they eat but learning about textures and having fun with food (even though it's really messy). As for rusks - DS doesn't really like them but perhaps he is like me ... I don't really enjoy overly hard food either. Like your DS he tends to prefer the rice crackers. They are great for when we are out and about and he gets a little cranky and impatient.

cat - how cute about the talking. DS is a babbler too. He will happily talk for ages to his toys and food. In the morning he will happily "talk" in his cot for 30-45 mins while I doze in and out of sleep listening to him on his monitor. We get quite a few mum mum mum and dad dad dad - but I don't know that there is any meaning to them yet. (Although he does say mum a lot more often when he is tired or cranky)

[EarthAngel75]

angel: I'm glad my ds isnt the only big eater lol there's a mum with a boy a week older than C at MG whose boy only eats about 90ml of food and then some yoghurt at a time and i was thinking maybe C is eating too much - but i rekcon if he's eating it he must be hungry as other times he refuses.

Nikki: I am so not looking forward to night terrors. I have read a lot about them over the years and they usually say to not touch them as it often makes them worse - Do you often find L standing when he's having a night terror? I bet being more mobile disturbs their sleep too. I absolutely cannot stand the stage they go thru where they constantly stand up in their cot and scream for you - you lie them down leave the room and they do it again and it just repeats for what seems like forever (not looking forward to that with C at ALL!) We've got the Airwrap on the cot already (in an attempt to not loose so many dummies overboard) which I'm hoping to keep wakings due to limbs getting stuck to almost zero.

Happy Dance: C is absolutely amazing with lumpy foods. What they call lumpy in any of the baby foods is a joke to me (even in the 10m+ stuff) as I feed C much more lumpy stuff and have since he was 6m old. I started with only doing BLW which is purely finger foods and only introduced mashed/lumpy foods when he seemed hungry and wanting to consume more food than he could via finger foods. Now I give C his mashed foods first and then give him finger foods afterwards to keep up his dexderity (developing the pincher grip and also the oral ability to handle textures in the mouth). Boys are known for being poorer with feeding/foods (not handling textures/finger foods as well as girls) which is why I went down to BLW path to begin with. If you want to try and improve C's intake of finger foods/lumps offer finger food at every meal (it means a LOT of mess as it ends up all over the place). I give ds things like fingers of watermelon, whole peaches/plums/nectarines (i bite into them first so he has access to the flesh), cubes of cheese (good for developing the pincher grasp), overcooked child ravioli (the fresh pasta you can buy in the supermarket - the kids one which is smaller in size than the adults. I cook it for 10min instead of 5 and then offer ds one at a time from my hand without any sauce). Fork mashed cooked peas (again good for the pincher grasp), strips of meat (ds loves chicken and steak) also florets of overcooked brocoli have been popular here. Oh and any large pasta noodle (spirals, penne etc).

Cat: I too would have a guess that your ds has your musical genes :) Have a good ear allows one to pick up not only speech very easily but accents as well. Does he use mum and dad discrimenately or does he just say them whenever or to whoever? Oh and if you havent tried tinned tuna with ricotta with your ds yet - give it a go :)

I'm hoping to start taking C to some swimming classes too. We have a pool that does infant classes that are pay as you go and that run m-f and then twice on sat and you can go as often or as little as you like. I won't take him every week as I've already got 3 days of regular outings (MG, questicon (the science centre here) and Gymbaroo and feel that is plenty.

Has anyone been able to figure out what their bubs strengths are yet? (Cat it sounds like you guess your DS's may be music and/or speech). I have recently discovered that I think C's may be fine motor skills. He's pulling zippers up and down, turning knobs, moving beads thru the maze etc. and can already do all the actions on this with his favourite being the blue knob that you have to turn:
http://toys.scholarschoice.ca/images/products/25/Popup-Farm-N13676_XL.jpg

[nikki08]

Earth - I'm the same as you, I've never pureed food completely I've only mashed his food even from a young age. So he's always had lumpy food and now finally he has taken to finger food. Today he ate toast, banana, peas, pumpkin, spinach and cereal. I prefer it when he has a healthy appetite because it usually means he is feeling good. He goes off his food if he is moody, unwell or tired.

Regarding the night terrors, L will stand up in his cot and scream and I'll lie him down only to find he'll stand up again 10 minutes later. It's very frustrating but he is just a baby and I figure it's my job as exhausting as it is to keep resettling him through this phase. Last night though I woke DH so he could have a go because I was too tired after 5 attempts. Eventually he was ok though. He's not fully awake though, he stands but he is still sleeping if that makes sense. Oh and for the record as soon as they can stand they throw their dummy over the edge emphatically :rolleyes:

Angel - sounds like DS is doing really well on the finger food, I know 9 month olds who don't eat that many finger foods yet! I gave L vegemite toast today, he loved it :)

[Cat21]

Earth - N definitely knows 'mummy' and 'daddy'. It's very cute except when DH is trying to settle him at 5am and he's yelling "mummmmeeeeee" at the top of his lungs and only stops when DH hands him over! It's one of the few times he demands me over DH. "daddy" is a lot more frequent- like when I'm feeding him inside and he hears DH open the back door to come inside and he'll look up and ask "daddy?"-so very cute.

N definitely has imitation down to a fine art and mimics sounds, tones and noises.

Anyone notice if their child favors right or left? N seems to be a lefty - although he uses both, he would pass toys from his right to his left even from a very young age and even when I'd put the toys on his right side.

Angel- can't help but agree re the sleep. In fact, DH and I were talking today that it'd be a bonus if #2 sleeps but at least we know what we're in for if he doesn't!

Yikes, night terrors sound awful. I know one little boy who suffered really badly for a long time. Yuk.

Angel- enjoy your swimming! We can't wait either!

[nikki08]

Cat - I can't believe how much N is talking already! L has only really started talking lately and his favourite sound is baba, which at the moment seems to refer to everything from food to his dummy. The only other thing he says with definite certainty is Mummeeeee and wow can he shout that clearly if he thinks I'm not paying him enough attention.

[EarthAngel75]

Nikki: thanks for all the info on your experience with night terrors. I am so not looking forward to that!!

Cat: DS also seems to prefer his left at the moment but I know from all my years of nannying that this doesnt mean he'll end up being a lefty. In fact the last little boy i looked after (before I had dd) was such a strong lefty user from the time I started with him at 1 until when i left when he was 2.5 I swore he'd be a lefty but nope he starts real school this year and he's a righty! When I looked after him I was also looking after a little girl the same age who was an early talker like your ds. She was doing sentances by 18m and boy all she wanted to do was read books ALL day long LOL from about age 1. She also liked much more complicated books than your usual child that age (at 2 I was reading her the actual Winnie the Pooh novel) and she loved looking at knowledge type books about the ocean and animals etc (kind of like encyclopedias). While she owned a lot of books at home she was such a frequent want to read all the time type we had to go to the library every week for stacks of new books too.

Speaking of reading - how often does everyone read to their LOs and what kind of books are you reading? I read to ds before I put him down for any kind of sleep (so 3 times a day at the moment). We usually read 1-3 books depending on how tired he is. He doesnt like books with too many sentances on a page still. Most of the books we read are the That's not my... from Usbourne with a few other touchy feely and lift the flap books thrown in. I have tried reading Guess how much I love you about 2 days ago and it can't hold his interest as there are too many sentances. He loves turning the pages more than the reading i think LOL

[happy dance]

Earth, thanks for all your tips with introducing textures. I will start to introduce more finger foods and see how he goes. We had watermelon last night which he enjoyed. I love watching him chew, reminds me of old men with no teeth....very cute.

Do you recommend any particular cheese????

As for bubs strengths, I think C is a very social bub. He loves being around a lot of people. He tends to attract people almost anywhere we go with his big smile and happy attitude.

C is also very active, not much into books (I might read to him a couple of times a week, and I read books with only a sentence or so per page). He is more interested in turning the pages or trying to eat it.

C perfers spending most of his time attached to my hip or walking with assitance.

Nikki, thanks for sharing your tips with food. Sounds like your little one is enjoying a wide variety of foods.

Those night terrors sound like they are very scarey and also very tiring for you. I am definately not looking forward to experiencing them.

Cat, C seems to be more of a lefty at the moment.

It is so cute when they start vocalising. It must be so cute to hear your bub call you mummieee. C is just doing the babba, dada, mama and a few babling type noises. C also enjoys making this clicking noise with his tongue.


angeleish, I will have to step up on the finger foods and I am sure he will be enjoying them before I know it.

I hope your second bub is a good sleeper. Most parents suggest their children are different and they have had an easy baby and one that needs a bit more attention. So far I think I have been pretty blessed with C so lets hope the second is somewhat similar. Personally I think it would be easier to have the life experience of dealing with issues with the first as the experience is invaluable for number two.

[nikki08]

Earth / Happy - L only likes to be to be read to just before bed as part of his bedtime ritual and then he'll go to sleep. If I try and read to him any other time he just throws the book away. During the day he is just all action boy.

Happy - L does that clicking noise and a sucking type noise as well, he finds it hilarious. When we are out and about he always chatting to complete strangers and making them laugh, he loves to socialise and he flashes a huge grin at anyone who'll pay attention.

[angeleish]

books - I try to read to him before each bed time, but also read to him occasionally at other times too. Just a word of warning for those who only read at sleep time - friends of mine did this and now their DS wont look at a book as he associates books with bedtime and like most toddlers doesn't like the thought of bed time. As a result of talking to said friend I now try to fit in reading at non-bedtime times too!

DS doesn't mind books. I just try to capture him at a time when he is a little quiet. He loves books with big pictures such as "the hungry caterpillar", "brown bear brown bear" and spot books. I've learnt to hold the book at a distance though as he still loves to eat them!! :laughing:

cat - DS doesn't have a favourite hand to use yet.

Happy - DS is very social too. He is happiest when we are out and about and gets excited when I load him into the car. His favourite "game" when out and about is to stare at random strangers and once he grabs their attention give a HUGE giggle and smile. Wins them over every time. He just loves being the centre of attention.

nikki - I hope tonight is a better night for you and the night terrors stop soon.

Off to swimming tomorrow. After swimming we are meant to be going to a BBQ at a friend's house (friend of DH). I'm really not sure if I should go or not... it's meant to be 40 here and these people have no aircon at their house at all..... not really sure what to do. I've asked DH to see if they'd come here instead and I'd happily cater but DH reckons that they've probably already bought the food etc. What do you guys think? Will DS cope for a couple of hours in such heat with no aircon??

[Cat21]

We have a social bub here too...especially when it comes to other kids. He'll happily chatter away when we go out with friends to lunch and can be held or go back into the pram. Today we had a long lazy lunch out and I was surprised we'd been there for over three hours - helped that N was shouting out to kids running around and was so excited watching them but the eyes closed as soon as we got in the car!

N loves books too. Angel - I'd heard the same thing about associating books with bedtime! We try to mix it up too. Current favourites are 10 in the Bed and Green Sheep.

Angel - last hot day we ended up at a hot house, I gave N ice blocks to play with. Kept him cool and hydrated at the same time. I'm not looking forward to the next couple of days here...hot days and nights! Yuk. We spent the whole day out today in anticipation of going into lockdown tomorrow!

Yes-mummeeeee is so gorgeous! Love it- even at 5am! I'm loving this age - I love the recognition if people and things like he will pull the fear stick on his steering wheel toy if we say "pull the lever" or he's learning to distinguish between his cousins. Repetition pays off. Even though N's milestones might be text book for all babies, it's so special watching him do something new all the time. I've actually kept a very rough scribbled list of all the "firsts" each week and love looking back over it and realising he's had a "first" every week.

So, despite severe sleep deprivation, I still find myself basking in this new life! Now if only we could have just one sleep through...

[nikki08]

Seems we might finally be turning a corner :cheerleader2: for the past couple of nights L has started sleeping through consistently. He still wakes around 5:30am and wants to get up but it's much easier to handle if I've had a good sleep rather than a broken one. His day sleeps seem to be getting easier too, but we are still working on that.

Cat - like you sleep deprivation is a hard one to handle but even at my most exhausted I couldn't help but smile. Every milestone is just amazing :goodvibes: Glad to hear you are enjoying N so much.

Angel - I love reading stories but L just won't sit still long enough to listen to stories unless he is tired. He just crawls off, tries to throw the book, eat the book or tear the pages if he is awake. When he is awake he is like a mini tornado and then when I look at him sleeping I find it hard to believe he is so active and alert when he awake because he looks so calm and content. I bought him some new toys yesterday (second hand) so he had some new things to play with and within 10 minutes he had managed to disassemble part of the Fischer Price toy already...

[angeleish]

tried to post yesterday but had no luck. grrr....

Nikki - Woo hoo to you and L on improving the sleep!!! :cheerleader2: Gotta love a full night's sleep
!!!

I loved your description of your little man working his way through the new stash of toys and already dissembling one!!! Cheeky man!!

As for the books I wouldn't worry too much that he's not interested yet. Sounds like he is a very active boy which would then make it understandable that he doesn't "have time" to sit down and read!!

cat - thanks for the ice tip. We survived yesterday at our friends house. DS was more than ready to get home though. It was so hot here yesterday though that even with the aircon the house was only moderately cool. DS had his first ever sleep without a sleeping bag (just nappy and singlet). I think he was a little confused at first and kept crawling around the cot but eventually managed to get to sleep.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the milestones. I've recently started to fill in a Beatrix Potter "My First Year" book. I'm not overly keen on keeping diaries etc but I really enjoy jotting down his "firsts".

Well - we now have five teeth!!! DS cracked another overnight!!! :eek: DS bit me when BF last night. He hasn't done this for ages but OMG with extra teeth now.... it really hurts!!!

[happy dance]

angeleish, so how was swimming??

We had a pretty hot and humid weekend. Got up to 40 degrees....luckily by Sat PM it started to rain so I had a little rain dance with bub. We only have evap airconditioning which doesnt work well in humidity. I found bub to be unsettled over the weekend....just wondering if it was the heat.

Did bub show any signs of teething???? I purchased an amber necklace over the christmas break as C was very unsettled and I thought it may have been his teeth. I just got it delivered on Friday. As C is his normal self I am yet to really try it out.


Nikki, it is great to have such a socialable bub. It would be great if bubs stayed that way long term and we had a socialable community. I find people are to afraid to talk to each other anymore.

I am so pleased to hear L had a couple of great sleeps to give you a bit of a break. It really is tiring to be up frequently during the night.

Earth, I got C some ravioli to try during the week and he seems to be progressing well with lumpy food for the time being.

[angeleish]

Big thanks to earth here too for her pasta suggestion. I tried it here yesterday (the kids fresh Latina? type from the supermarket fridge) & DS loved it!! Thanks for the tip. Keep them coming!!

Happy - DS is also slightly more unsettled in the hot weather. I put his sippy cup in the freezer when he has a nap so he has a super cold drink when he wakes up! We've had really hot weather here too. We have aircon but only in our living area. Thankfully DS's room is near the living room so his room isn't too bad (with two fans going to help him out a little) but I think he is getting cabin fever from not being able to wander too far in the house. Planning on taking him to the public pool today to help break our house arrest!!

Swimming was awesome (thanks for asking). Just a small class (only 5 bubs). For the most part it was nursery rhymes and games but they also covered things that I wouldn't have though of. Eg hanging on to the pool edge. Getting in and out of the pool safely. The instructor also put each baby completely under water. He did it so gently that not one baby cried!! It was great to watch (DH did the lesson with DS - I was just a spectator!!)

As for teething it hasn't been too bad here (frantically touching wood here as I type!!). DS seems to be cutting his teeth at very quick speeds. I can now see his 6th tooth ready to pop in the next week or so!! Biggest symptom here is excessive dribble and a slight nappy rash. He does grizzle more overnight but they are quick random cries followed by sleep - we don't need to re-settle or anything. Not sure if this is teething related or just a phase of bad dreams.

Have to agree with your comment about if we could all be as social as babies. What a different world it would be huh!!? When out and about DS seems to bring people together. He's struck up "conversations" with many different races and religions and people of all ages. As a consequence so have I. I love how people are more keen to speak to me as a result of him!! :)

[nikki08]

Angeleish - L loves his swimming lessons too and I think it's a great way to keep them cool in summer. Plus L sleeps really well after a lesson. At the moment we are doing safe pool entry and climbing out safely too. He loves it.

Earth - I've not tried ravioli yet, L seems to shun anything with meat in it but I'll give anything a try at least once. I will have to give him a try soon.

HD - Babies are so friendly and sociable and then they all seem to grow into different personalities, some stay sociable, others get shy. I've never met a really shy baby though, they all seem to be so outgoing! How different society would be if we were all that chatty hey ;)

[EarthAngel75]

Good afternoon everyone :O)

Hope all the mums (LOL i almost spelled it moms like i was back home!) and bubs are keeping well in this heat! We're lucky in that our living area and kitchen have aircon and our bedroom does too. However due to the heat we've had ds sleeping in our room overnight in the portacot as his room doesnt have aircon yet (being installed sometime this month though). I'm really looking forward to the cool change this weekend - just in time for my parents to arrive from Canada.

HD: We just use the woolies home brand cheese usually unless one of the other brands is on sale. Colby cheese is a bit softer though so would probably be easier to melt in the mouth but havent yet tried it on ds yet. Glad your ds likes the pasta. So easy and simple to make for a meal too!

angel: Are you reading books that aren't board books? I'm too chicken to use real books yet as i dont want to them to get destroyed. We like Brown bear here too. Sounds like your ds liked swimming. I can't wait to take C but school isnt back yet in the ACT. Wow 5 teeth. How fun although your ds must look like such a little boy now with all his teeth.

Cat: sounds like you are truely enjoying your ds :) We are fans of where is the green sheep here too.

Nikki: YAY for having turned a corner on the sleep front. I am not looking forward to the sleep regression at 9m at all - C has been sleeping through for me since we've been back from Canada bar one night when he woke up at 4am rather insettled. LOL at L dismebling a toy. We have a FP toy (the polar coaster) that C is always taking apart. It drives me a little crazy and I'm not all that impressed that it's so easy to take apart when it's meant for babies aged 6m+

I have a Q about teeth and teething too - Those bubs with teeth did they get both their bottom teeth close together or did one come and then not the other for some time? C has had his right bottom tooth visible for more than a month and it has finally fully broken through recently but the left one is no where to be seen or felt although he is still dribbling heaps. He is a terrible teether in that his teeth seem to like to take their time in actually coming thru.

For those interested in order of teeth and timeline (came across it in one of my books while searching for something else) it is:

bottom 2 middle teeth by 7m
top middle teeth by 9m
the two on either side of the bottom middle teeth at 10m
the two on either side of the top middle teeth at 11m

[nikki08]

Earth - L just got his two bottom teeth a few days ago, he will be 9 months old tomorrow. They came at exactly the same time and with no fuss. Not sure if the tops ones are coming soon but by the look of his drool I'd say we're not far off.

[angeleish]

earth - yep just the regular books here. I just hold them at a distance so that he can't chew them while I read. If he's extra determined to eat the book then I just give him something else to chew while I read. Now that I've been doing this a while he doesn't really try to eat it any more.

Today I've read "Hairy McLary" to him a few times. I've noticed today that every time we get to the page where all of the dogs are off walking together he gives a giggle. So cute that he is recognising things. We have a dog here so I think he is connecting the dogs in the story to our dog here. :goodvibes:

As for teeth - His bottom two came through at the same time. His top two at the same time. He has just cracked his top left one and his top right one is on the way (the ones next to the middle two). He is a quick teether. The time between us seeing the teeth and them coming through is pretty quick here.

happy - forgot to mention the cheese. We just give DS whatever we are having cheese wise. At first I gave him Kraft singles as they are thin and easy to digest but now I just give him the regular matured cheese. Bega do cheese sticks which are great for when we go out. Also, I tend to get it out of the fridge a little before he eats it just to soften it a little.

[Cat21]

Teeth? What are they? :). We have an 8 month old gummy bear here!

Yay for the swimming Angel and Nikki! Can't wait to start our lessons next week!

Angel - love Hairy Mc here too but still mostly on board books.

Looking forward to mums and bubs sessions starting again tomorrow - I don't work Wednesdays so looking forward to it!

And the heat here has been awful - no air con but fans going and lots of cold drinks. Thank god for the cool change!

In sleeping news - we had our first sleep through last night! 9pm to 6am! Yay! And the temp stayed above 26 all night so extra impressive!

[angeleish]

:cheerleader2::cheerleader2::cheerleader2:For Cat's little boy!!! Well done on giving mummy a full night's rest!! :cheerleader2::cheerleader2::cheerleader2:


And one :cheerleader1: for cat for surviving this heat without air con. You are a true legend!!

[Cat21]

Awe thanks Angel!

Nikki - are you ok up in FNQ?

[angeleish]

Hope you and your little family are ok Nikki

[nikki08]

Thanks for the thoughts girls :) We are all ok luckily. It sort of bypassed us and headed south. Really feel for those people who lost so much though. It looks quite devastating :(

[angeleish]

Nikki - glad to hear that you guys are okay. I agree - devastating for those involved though!! :no:

On a different note - OMG look at your ticker to your boy's first birthday!!! arrgh!!! So close!!!

(Can't believe this time last year we were making similar notes about our tickers reaching the end of our pregnancies!!)

[nikki08]

Angel - I know! I can't believe how fast this first year has gone so far. I was just staring at him today still amazed at how lucky I feel to have him. :goodvibes:

[happy dance]

So glad you and your family are OK Nikki. It is so hard to believe that so many peoples lives have been affected by the floods.

Cat how is your little one going sleeping through the night. Have you had a few more full night sleeps?

The gummy smiles are so cute. We still only have two bottom teeth and it does not look like there are any more comming through.

Earth, need to up bubs cheese intake. He has had a few cubes of cheese but I have to admit I often forget to of offering it at a snack. I have decided to start making my own yoghurt which everyone in the house seems to enjoy, so at least he is getting some dairy.

angeleish, C is slowing starting to understand words. It is fantasic. We were saying "bye bye" to his grandparents this morning and he started waving. It really was the first time I realised he is really starting to comprehend things. I think he understands ""No" (although makes up his own mind as to whether he will listen) I say "stay"when changing his nappy and he stays put long enough to change his nappy.

He even seems to grasp the concept of a few books and will start to touch and feel the different textures on a page.

Today C was crawling on the floor in our lounge after he followed me into the laundry. I then realised he was chewing on something so I open his mouth to retrieve the object. He was chewing on a cricket!!!!:froggy:

As for me I have just started my medicated FET cycle. I was so wondering how I would feel going back to the clinic and had a bit of a sleepless night. I was relieved that I didnt feel that urgency (dont really know how to describe it). but I felt much more relaxed being there as I already have a bub. I am hoping that feeling continues during the TWW.

[angeleish]

Oh Happy - so excited for you that you are back on the IVF bus!! Keep us posted!! Hopefully your next journey will be short and sweet and be a great inspiration to those of us thinking about TTC in the future!! :cheerleader2: So exciting!!

Also exciting that your DS is starting to understand things. I've noticed our DS seems to have favourite books now and seems to like certain parts of stories (he always giggles at the same spots). Also, he is getting the hang of the touch and feel books. He is now responding to his name now and will come when called (provided something more interesting isn't taking his fancy :p) Still working on him waving and clapping though...

Also, very jealous of your DS understanding "still" during a nappy change. It is like pro-wrestling here to do a nappy change. . . especially when he first wakes in the morning as he is just busting with energy.

This thread moves very slowly these days but just in case some of the old crew who aren't posting much anymore still lurk...... I'm still thinking of you guys and hope you are all out there having lots of fun with your miracles. This is such a fun stage we are at!

[nikki08]

HappyDance - L understands lie down when we put him in his cot. He likes to stand up but as soon as we say lie down and pat the pillow he lowers himself down and lies down. He also understands 'no' but chooses to ignore me often and when I say dinner or breakfast he understands but not so much lunch. Obviously he knows who mummy and daddy are but not sure about other people yet.
:smiliedance: on going back for number two, it's so exciting. I have everything crossed it happens quickly for you.

Angel - I love this age but some days I just fall into bed with exhaustion, I am always excited to hear how everyone else is going though :)

[happy dance]

HI guys

Hope you are all well.

Nikki it is so cute you little man knows lie down. It must be so cute seeing him snuggle into his pillow at night.

angeleish, how is your little bub doing??? Have you progressed in your swimming lessons?

C now has three new front teeth and there is a further bottom tooth. They do seem to bother him when they are piercing through and I am finding he is waking much more during the night over the past few weeks. It has been really hot here in Perth so it could be a combination of heat and pain from teething???

Well I just thought I would let you guys know if all goes well I will be PUPO tommorow.

[nikki08]

HD - how exciting, I hope this is a sticky one :fingerscrossed:

A lot of girls in my mothers group have talked about trying for number two soon or have already started trying. I'm still undecided it but I think I'll consider it once I start getting unbroken sleep at night, until then my one little hyper bunny is enough :hyper:

[angeleish]

Happy - Good luck for your FET. I so hope it works first time for you. How exciting!!! :goodvibes: You have to keep us posted on your progress!!

Still thinking of using our last embie around May-June ish. DH is really keen but I'm a little more like Nikki... wanting a little more sleep before that happens. In saying that, DS has been sleeping through most nights recently. :fingerscrossed: This is not a passing phase but a permanent one (yeah right.... as if :rolleyes:).

Our poor little guy is sick at the moment (ear infection). So grizzly and cranky and not himself at all. Hopefully he is back to his happy self soon.

[nikki08]

Angeleish - L has been sleeping much better lately too but I still BF 1-2 times over night so it's not a full sleep for me. At the moment he is a little bit unwell too with a cough that sounds horrendous, so he's been up a little more often. Hope your DS recovers quickly from his ear infection, they are horrible things :hugs:

[hopefulmama2b]

Hi Girls

Sorry, I have been around, just very busy! Back at work which I am enjoying, missing Billy during the day but I am home just after 5pm and he doesn't hit the sack will about 9pm so we have a few hours together then which is nice :cheerleader2:

Just a quick q, with 1st birthdays rapidly approaching, what are you all thinking of buying for your little ones?? I can't think of anything he needs, lol

[nikki08]

Hopeful - I don't spend a lot of money on toys for L at the moment either. I buy him something that makes noises and lights up and he plays with a coat hanger he found on the floor and carries it everywhere with him.... So for his first birthday if he is walking properly by then I might buy one of those plastic trikes that they can sit on and push along with their feet. Nothing too fancy, he'll probably want to play with the box anyway! I figure we may as well try and keep it simple for as long as we can because they won't be this easy to please forever :p

[EarthAngel75]

Hey girls,

HD- good luck with your fet. I start on primulot to bring on af tonight for 2w then start clomid on day 2. Hopefully it will be good news for both of us :)

Nicki - how's L doing with his walking now? I can't believe you're still up twice a night to feed - I couldn't do it!

Hopeful - I've got a few things put away for C's birthday (grandparents and my sis send money since none are local) which include some little people sets (jacks garage, the house, playground) a trike with handle, a baby real piano, and a wheely bug which is the coolest ride on ever (multi directional - not just forwards and backwards). Some other good choices are a baby swing or little play gym with slide (good from 6m until about 2 at most unless a very small light Bub), playdough, some kind of pushing implement (pram, trolley, rideon with handle at back), a rocking horse/see saw (Corbin loves the rocking Thomas at playgroup). Small easy puzzles, shape sorters, things that have knobs to twist, pull, flip etc are all good around a year. A. Trampoline would also be popular with many 1 year olds lol

C is still sleeping thru the night from when we got back from Canada. There have been a few times recently when he's woken and turned on his musical light up seahorse to find is dummy but has gone back to sleep on his own.

He's down to 3 milk feeds a day and has 3 big meals a day plus arvo tea usually. Soon we'll be switching to having his solids first in the morning and then milk after. I weighed him yesterday and he's about 10.2kg now and 76.5cm long. He loves going to swimming lessons, loves going to questicon and playing in the water feature they have and enjoys gymbaroo. We've started going to playgroup every week now too.

[nikki08]

Earth - L hasn't really pushed himself too much on the walking yet, every now and then he'll let go and take a step or two then he falls down and crawls the rest of the way. He is very good at standing on his own and can lower himself to a sitting position quite gently though. I think balance and confidence will take him the rest of the way, all in good time.

I probably don't feed twice a night every night anymore, sometimes he wakes around 9pm (he does go to bed around 6pm), but more often than not he sleeps through until 2-3am and I feed him then and he'll sleep until 6:30am. He also eats three meals a day plus a morning snack and afternoon snack. He doesn't drink much milk during the day though, maybe 2 feeds now, he prefers food during the day time and BF mornings and night.

[happy dance]

Hopeful, C seems to have more fun with a tissue box then most of his toys, so I dont think I will be investing a lot for pressies.

I would like to get a plaster cast mould to mould his hands and feet as they wont stay that small for ever.

angeleish, I hope your little bub is feeling better. I am sure an ear infection isnt fun.

It is hard to know when is the right time to start trying for number two.

Nikki, I am the same as you. I havent spent a whole heap on toys. Personally the less clutter the better.

Earth, It must be so exciting to be on your way with number two. I have to say I feel much more relaxed about this FET then I have for any other cycle I have undergone. I think the reason is I already have my precious bub and if I am blessed with another GREAT and if not I have the most beautiful miracle already.

I was also very lucky that both of my embies survived the thaw and now it is up to them to decide if they are going to be part of our family.

All the best with your cycle....I am sure you will be happy with the result.

[EarthAngel75]

angel: I hope your ds is feeling better now :)

HD: When is testing day for you? Have you always tx 2? We will be txing 2 as well but I have always done so. Having an embie not survive the thaw would be horrible. There's a 10% chance which isnt all that high really but I know so many people it has happened to. Luckily Ive got 3 frosties on ice so if one doesnt survive odds are the other two should. I have some online friends from another forum who had bubs 6-8w before my ds was born who are both now UTD and without IVF!!! Both total suprise pg's lol

Funny how some of your LOs love the boxes/paper etc more than toys. C is not like this at all. He does have a lot to choose from though and I have made a huge effort to make sure he has an assortment of whatever type of toy type that really takes his fancy (for the last few months it's been once that spin and make noise when they do so) and he's recently taken a fancy to balls so got him as assortment of various sized/type of balls (ones that bounce, ones that roll well, soft, hard, small, big, smooth, spikey etc)

First birthday countdown is now on for some of you - how exciting. Ive got to get my act together so I don't get behind in my planning for Cs. I also need to find the time to practice making the sugar cookies and icing them which I havent managed to do so far.

[angeleish]

hopeful - I have no idea what to get DS for his first birthday. We wont be spending much as he is lucky enough to have many family and friends who will also spoil him. At the moment his favourite things are balls, loud toys, anything he can pull himself up on and toys he can climb on and over. I'm thinking perhaps a ball and an activitiy table of some sort but I'm really not sure. DH and I will have to do some shopping I think!!! :smiliedance:

HD - 2 x embies. oooh good luck. Please please please keep us posted. I'm so excited for you. I hear you on not being as anxious second time around. I feel like that (at the moment anyway) for our attempt at #2. I just feel so lucky to have one little baby that anymore would just be a beautiful bonus.

earth - sounds like you're not far off your FET either. I hope it is a case of first time lucky for you too.

Nikki - I hope your little one's cough is on the mend. It isn't fun with sick babies.

As for feeding - DS eats 3 huge meals a day. (when he is not sick anyway). He has between 3-4 BF a day. At the moment he is wanting 4 as he is clingy while sick. However, usually we only do 3. If we are out and about I really don't bother with either the mid morning or mid afternoon feed and DS doesn't mind a bit. If we are at home he usually refuses one of these feeds anyway (or only takes half). Surprisingly he is least keen to feed before bed time and some nights will happily go to bed without a BF. I still hope to fully wean him at 1.

[hopefulmama2b]

thanks all for your 1st birthday present tips. I may go the activity table option- he has a little bike, a trolly thingy to wheel, soo many toys... i may also get him some dvd's.
We are still not crawling reallly... he bum crawls and he is starting to go from sitting position to a crawl position to reach something but then he goes back to a sitting pos. I am not worried but, i think we may just have a late crawler/walker on our hands.

[nikki08]

Hopeful - I wouldn't be concerned yet, he's only 10 months old and they say that's the 'average' for crawling but a lot of my friends bubs who are the same age don't crawl properly yet either, so I think the average takes into consideration both really early and late adopters. Plus while he's not fully crawling yet, you can still enjoy a coffee and tim tam without worrying about him disappearing down the hall or knocking over your cup! Ah the bliss haha

L has taken a few more steps but I'm not pushing him. I know once he realises he can walk he'll be off and nothing will be safe. The dog has already worked out his exit strategy! I get the feeling we're still a little while off properly walking though because he does like to crawl around.

Angeleish - is your milk supply dropping? Mine is since L has taken less feeds and he's become fussy. Like your DS he won't feed when we are out and about anymore, too many distraction and even during the day it's a quick feed then off again. I still feed at night mostly but days not so much anymore. I wonder if that's normal?? I have no idea... He does eat a fair bit and he sucks on things like watermelon and I add veggies and water to his food to hydrate him which seems to help too. He won't properly drink water yet though.

[hopefulmama2b]

Hi Nikki

Thanks :) and no, I'm not concerned at all, he will do it all when ready, no pressure from mummy and daddy because we don't have to baby proof the house yet and I love that, lol. He is very wriggly and is he is on my lap or even on the floor nothing within his radius is safe because he seems to be SUPER flexible and can reach things that seem very far away lol.
He hated water at first Nikki, now I can get him to drink almost 100mls in one go sometimes

[EarthAngel75]

Angel: C isnt overly fussed with his bedtime milk feed either but I try and get him to take a reasonable amount as he's not yet 9m and I try to give him his dinner earlier to he'll be hungrier come feed time. I probably wont worry about it though once he's past 9m and solids become more important.

Hopeful: Does Billy bum crawl in a sitting position or on his back? Doing so in a sitting position is bum shuffling and these types don't usually do a proper crawl until after they walk. Doing so on his back could mean he'll start to do it in a sitting position (so turn into a bum shuffler) or he may commando or proper crawl at some stage or go straight to walking (had a few ppl tell me their LOs did the whole back shuffling and went straight to walking since going out and about with C). C still likes to back shuffle at times but has discovered he can't see where he's going and therefore bumps his head on things which he doesnt like LOL

In my experience acitvity tables (well the electronic fisher price types anyways) have a very limited use after 1 year (toddlers seem to find them very boring from about 18m if not earlier). You can find wooden ones (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3768986) with bead mazes and the like on them instead which would probably last longer (though never looked after a child with one).

does anyone with pets have a petdoor? If you do has bubs found it yet? Ours is actually a sml dog door so quite big really and in plain sight in the loungeroom and C has found it and goes straight for it almost everytime! Lately he's been pushing his head on it and making it go partly thru so I can see anytime now I'm going to find him outside!

[angeleish]

earth - I had to laugh at the dog door story!!! How cute!!! We don't have one but I'm sure DS would do the same as he loves sitting at the door and banging it in the hope that it will open and he can crawl out.

hopeful - some of the babies in our gymbaroo class still don't crawl at 12 months ish! I'm sure it will happen when you least expect it. It did for us and our poor dog copped it big time! (She lost a chunk ful of fur - poor thing).

Nikki - I think our dog is scared of DS at the moment. She runs away when he gets near her (I think she still remembers losing some fur to him). She seems better with older children so I'm hoping that she will warm to him more as time goes by. For now though it is a one sided love - DS loves the dog more than the dog loves him.

As for my milk supply yes it has definitely dropped. I'm not overly worried as he is almost 10 months and eats almost anything and drinks a fair amount of water. Recently he has also dropped his over night feed. I think this is because when he does wake for a feed now he doesn't get as much milk and therefore it isn't worh his effort to wake me for a feed. :fingerscrossed: this continues as I'm really enjoying my sleep throughs!! I'm hoping to wean DS at 12 months so I can have a month or two off before starting TTC again. I don't think DS will have a problem with this at all provided I keep offering lots of solids.

[nikki08]

Angeleish - I'm not sure when the wean L but I get the feeling he may just wean himself with time. He has slowly been dropping feeds and has now taken to biting me more than actually feeding. He thinks it's funny. Same here with the dog, L loves the dog more than the dog loves him. However the dog is very protective, he waits outside his door for him in the morning.

Hopeful - does he eat his feet? L has taken to shoving his feet in his mouth all the time!

[angeleish]

nikki - DS is pretty much self weaning too so i don't think me deciding to stop BF at 12 months is going to be a hasstle.

I'm finding I really have to watch DS closely at the moment as he is pulling himself up on everthing and as a result taking lots of tumbles. Sometimes he falls elegantly and gives a giggle.... othertimes he has a good stack and needs lots of mummy cuddles.

[allyoop8]

hi girls you won't believe it i have bub hub on my phone
I have been keeping up to date reading but haven't been able to reply
Hope everyone is well!
Afm nate is nearly 10mths wow hasn't it gone fast he is crawling and cruising furniture and doesn't stop lol
He still has 5 breastfeeds a day but is alot quicker now so not sitting there for very long and off he goes again
Seth has just played his first trial match of footy so that was fun to watch
Talk to you all again

[angeleish]

Great to hear from you Ally. Glad to hear that your two boys are going well. Do they play together much?

Heading into town today to look for birthday gifts for DS. Part of me is excited to be buying him things - the other half a little sad that the first year is almost over. Time has gone so quickly.

[happy dance]

angeleish, thanks for all the well wishes.

Hee Hee I love your dog door story. It must be very exciting for your bub.

C's appetite does really vary. Some days I cant get enough food into him and others he justs has a few mouthfuls. Generally I dont think he has a huge appetite for food. He is still drinking a reasonable amount and would have 4-6 bottles of formula (which are around 150 - 180mls).

He is about 8Kg but he has always hovered around the 3rd percentile.

Earth, my official blood test is on Friday. So far I have managed quite well during the TWW. I have been very busy and C has kept me on my toes as he has been a bit unwell with tonsilitis. I did cave and did a HPT this morning which was negative....but about 10 mins later after squinting and sticking it in every light possilbe (including sun light) I saw an almost invisable second line. I am not sure if I am just wishing there is a line or whether it is reminants of my trigger (I have had a false positive before) so I am none the wiser.

I just wanted to know either way and although I would love a positive result it is not the end of the world if it was not meant to be.

I will keep you posted either way.

Hopeful, I was a bit concerned as C was not sitting at nine months - he really preferred being on his belly. You will probably find billy will just get up crawl or start walking one day and there will be no stopping him.

Nikki oohhh your poor dog. It is great he is so protective and patient. What type of dog do you have.

How is L's cold, is he starting to feel a bit better??

[angeleish]

Happy - Good luck for tomorrow's BT. I really hope it is a happy outcome for you. I'm hoping that feint line that you saw has managed to get darker for you. :fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed:

[nikki08]

HD - I'd glad C is keeping you busy, hopefully this is a sticky one and you'll get a lovely surprise soon.

I have a German Shepherd, he has taken it upon himself to be L's protector and shadow. At first he didn't really want much to do with him but now he's warmed to him and likes to sleep outside his room and alerts me when he cries.

Earth - how close are you to being in the TWW again?

Angeleish - I am going shopping for a gift soon. I want to get him a swing for the patio anyway so I figure I'll just make that his present. I took him to the park yesterday to see if he liked the swings and he loves them. He squeals with excitement. DH was less excited and ended up getting motion sickness haha.

Ally - L doesn't stop either, cruising around, letting go every now and then to take a few steps. It's fun to watch but it does mean extra baby proofing. Luckily I'm not really much of a hoarder so I don't have a lot of stuff in my house for him to reach. Although no matter how much baby proofing I do he still seems to find something to shove in his mouth. Are you planning on BFing until 12 months or until he starts to wean himself?

[EarthAngel75]

Ally: Good to hear from you. Sounds like Nate is doing really well :)

Angel: Any luck finding a bday present for DS?

HD: Where on earth are you with an update? LOL!!! I always POAS before bt as well. I too have had a false + once. I have a whole stack of tests from b4 ds so will probably just test everyday to see if any line gets darker or lighter! Hope no news is good news :)

Nikki: C does the same thing when on the swing. He's been on them at Gymbaroo and recently at the park a few times. I managed to score a Little Tikes airplane shaped baby/toddler swing on eBay for $30 incl postage which arrived today. Have to wait for my mum and her dh to get back to help me put it up though. C also loves going down the slide and tries to go down it head first on his tummy all the time!!

AFM: I'm still on the drug to bring on AF for another 4 days, then have to wait for AF to arrive (2-5 days) and then start clomid on day 2 so quite a ways off from the tww. Im pretty sure the tww wait will end while we're on holidays on the Sunshine coast at the ILs for the week before Easter. At least that will be a distraction hopefully.

[angeleish]

ooh was hoping for an update from Happy by now. I hope you had some good news today hun!

earth - no present as yet. I kind of got side tracked!! Not long for your FET now. I noticed you are going to take clomid. So will it be a fully medicated cycle? (Excuse my questioning.... my FET with DS was a natural FET so I'm not quite sure how medicated cycles work)

Nikki - swings are a big hit here too. Lots of giggles. DS is a dare devil though and likes to let go which is really scary.

Like yours our dog has warmed to DS too but I still don't trust them together. DS pulls her fur really hard and I worry that one day it may end in tears. So for now the two are separated. Sometimes the dog does sleep outside his room though and alert me when he wakes. Each morning she also comes into DS room with me and says "good morning" to DS by sniffing through the rails of the cot and wagging her tail. DS loves it!

[happy dance]

Hiya guys

Thanks for your support. Unfortunately my FET didnt work. I POAS Wednesday and got a BFN so I was prepared for my blood test results on Friday.

I asked if I could start on a stim cycle ASAP and the clinic had a case conference about me and thought it was better to have a month off. I had 5 dominant follicles from my last medicated FET so they thought I would be better off letting my hormones settle down for a month. They also said I would probably have a crap stim cycle if I went straight ahead.

At least AF is on her way so it wont be too long before I start again. I would have been nice not to have to do a stim cycle but oh well.

Earth, good luck with your cycle you will have to bring a BFP home for the team

[angeleish]

Awww happy I'm so sorry to hear that. Big :hugs: for you. Bummer too that you have to wait to stim. I always found the waiting part the hardest with regards to IVF. I'm sure though with your DS to look after time will go quickly and before you know it you will be back on the IVF bus again.

DH and I had a chat the other day and we are hoping to use our last embryo in July-ish. It sounds so far away but when I think about it by the time I have my FS appointment etc I'm sure it'll be July before I know it.

Earth - your next. I agree with happy - perhaps you can get the first of what is hopefully a bundle of BFP's for the girls on this thread ready for #2.

[nikki08]

HD - I'm sorry about that, but hopefully C will keep you well occupied until you start you stim next month. Don't you find that the days and weeks just seem to fly by especially now they are a bit older and seem to want to be entertained all the time :hyper: The waiting bit is still hard though :hugs:

Angeleish - July isn't that far away, that would be too soon for me I'm just not ready yet :eek: I bet July will be here before you know it and hopefully you, Earth and HD can share a pregnancy ticker again.

[allyoop8]

hi nikki i will breastfeed to whenever i don't mind he likes it so i don't want to take it off him
Seth and i had a mutual agreement at 15mths so i would love to go as long with nate
I don't drink coffee or tea and i only have the occasional drink so it doesn't bother me
How long are you going to do it for?

So the #2s are in the making how exciting good luck to all the girls ttc and sorry about the BFN for you happy

[nikki08]

Ally - I was going to stop at 12 months but it feels like I'd be taking something away from him which he seems to find comforting and relaxing. I don't see the point at the moment when we're both still happy to do it. Some times when we are out now he has formula because he gets too easily distracted if I BF and he likes to hold a bottle and watch people going past. However early mornings, evenings and nights he prefers me to the bottle and although I found it hard work to start with I find it easier now than preparing a bottle, especially early mornings or late at night. I figure it's whatever works for us even though quite a few of my friends are starting to ask when I'll stop BF, even though he's still only 10 months old. My sister BF until 14 months and like you she said it was then her DS decided he wanted to feed himself and drink from a cup instead so she was happy to give it up.

[angeleish]

Nikki - I completely understand you feeling that July would be too soon to TTC. We've always discussed the possibility of TTC this year, however, only recently have I become sure (and excited about) the prospect of TTC again. It's a big decision isn't it!

Ally - Good work on the BF front. I think it's great that you will BF for so long. I initially wanted to wean at 12 months but will now hold on for a little longer as we are traveling OS when DS is 13 months and I think the BF will be good comfort for him when he gets upset on a long haul flight. Like you, I don't find the BF to be inconvenient (but I do miss sharing wine with DH... these days he gets to enjoy so much more of the bottle than I do).

[nikki08]

Angeleish - I know a few people who had / are having their children close together and there are pros and cons of both. I guess with IVF being on the cards in a lot of ways it would be nicer to get that part of our lives behind us and focus on raising our kids. I think if pregnancy had been easier for me I would be thinking about trying again in October but because I know my GD will probably come back and they'll prob be monitoring me quite intensely after about 22 weeks I might wait until L is a bit older.

[angeleish]

Nikki - I still remember all of the problems you had with your GD so completely understand wanting to wait before getting pregnant again. You went through a lot with both TTC and pregnancy - it makes sense that you want to enjoy the good times a little longer before heading back there. Completely understand.

[angeleish]

PS - I think I said this last year with regards to your pregnancy ticker.... but OMG how fast is that ticker moving now!! We almost have 1 year olds!!!

[Cat21]

Hello everyone,

Great to hear from you all - sorry I haven't posted for ages, I'm finding it hard to keep up with everything at the moment but I do love reading your posts. I've been back at work now for over three months and it's exhausting so everything else starts to take a backseat. We are still having a nightmare time with sleep which only compounds the exhaustion from work but, hey, I have a healthy, (very) happy, gorgeous bub - sleep will sort itself out one day! DS is crawling, chatting and interacting so much - we love it. The talking is amazing - he started early and now does things like point at planes and say "plaaa" (plane) and if we're inside and we hear a particuarly noisy one he'll point up and go "ooooo, plaaaa". Very cute.

HD - so sorry to hear your news - was keeping my fingers crossed for you and was waiting excitedly. Your next stim will come around before you know it!

Angeleish - how's swimming? We absolutely love it here - although it tires us both out heaps! I'm not sure whether to enrol next term or to have a term off given it'll be so cold here. I'm not in any hurry but I do love getting DS in the water as my family have a history of being strong competition swimmers and DS already has the strongest kicking in his group! I can't wait to be able to play more with him in the water - we have one little boy who crawls so confidently in and out of the shallows!

Nikki - I hear you on the TTC #2 - although I had a relatively easy pregnancy (except for the last two scary weeks), I remember being so exhausted and nauseous that the idea of combining that with work and a toddler is scary.

Ally - great to hear from you!!! You give me hope that, if I"m lucky enough to have #2, I might be able to bf him too.

Earth - sounds like you are all over the birthday thing! I got as far as buying a kid's cake book and have the cake picked out (It has to be a Sophie of course!) but I think we'll have a small gathering. If it was summer, I'd be happy to have something outside at home and we got away with that for his christening even though it was Autumn but May is notorious for being cold and wet here. And I think mummy and daddy are so very exhausted from no sleep that something small might be appropriate!

Hopeful - hope work is going well - it's a hard act to juggle, isn't it?

Well I'm also getting the two big questions - how long are you going to bf for and when will you have #2? Like those of you still bfing, I enjoy it, DS loves it and it's so easy and convenient. We're also hoping to go away soon and I just can't be bothered lugging bottles and formula around. DS loves water so I know he's getting enough hydration even when he stuffs around on his daytime feeds. DH gives him a bottle when I'm at work but he's less interested in that depending on how much he has from me in the morning - and that dictates what he gets from me when I get home.

As for #2 - once we can get some sleep, maybe then we can have that conversation. In the meantime, all of DS's clothes are going into space bags...just in case!

To all of you out there reading and, like me, not able to post often, a massive hello and what an amazing year it has been with our bubs!

[happy dance]

angeleish, July will popp around before you know it.
I find the weeks just fly by for me. I work a four day week and I feel that as soon as I start the work week it is over and then I get to enjoy a long weekend with my gorgeous boy.

Nikki, I hear you with the fears of being pregnant again. I am concerned as I had major complications in the last week of pregnancy and I am extremely worried it will happen again.

I dont know whether anyone else feels the same but I do get a bit of hip and pubic pain which I feel is from pregnancy. Does anyone else not feel "quite right".

allyoop8, thank you!!! It is great you are still breast feeding in some respects I would have like to have continued. I just found my supply dropped so much with going back to work and bub and I found it quite challenging.

Cat, work and looking after bub and the household can be very tiring. I am generally in bed between 7:30pm and 8:30 most nights. But I would not change it for the world. I hope your little one starts to sleep better to give you a more restful night.

C has normally been a great self settler. I would just put him to bed in the evening and he would either smile and drift of to sleep or have a little grizzle and be asleep within 10-15 mins. However over the past couple of nights he has been anxious about me leaving the room. I have had to stay with him until he falls asleep and then quietly sneek out and if he wakes up in the night he is so anxious and crying hysterically that I either have to stay with him until he falls asleep or (very naughtly at 3:00am in my zombie state) popped him into bed with me and he was happy to fall back asleep - I then tried to put him back in his own cot with no success.

I would prefer he doesnt sleep in our bed as I can see it creating issues in the future so if anyone has any tips or hints in what to do it would greatly be appreciated.

[nikki08]

HD - I had L share the bed with us for about two months, it was while we were moving house and he was feeling unsettled. As soon as we settled in I started getting him used to his own room again. The first time I left him to cry he cried for 19 min, the second time for 7, then for 5, now he just plays with his dummy and happily goes to sleep on his own. For me I just knew it was time he started sleeping in his own cot again, but for a while the co-sleeping just worked for us.

As for not feeling quite right, I completely understand. My body just feels different now. My shape is a bit different and I sometimes get lower back pain that is different to what I had before I had L. I think pregnancy just changes our bodies, it's probably one of the biggest, quickest changes our bodies will ever go through naturally.

[allyoop8]

hi everyone
I'm lucky with my work i start at 8pm and finish at midnight so i feed him before bed
On the nights when he is unsettled he will take a bottle of formula
I get so tired when he wakes more then once during the night i have told my boss 3 night is all i can handle until he sleeps better
Looks like he is ready to go back to bed now so i'm off to get some more sleep
Nite nite

[angeleish]

Happy - I had a great pregnancy with no aches, pains or ailments. However, since giving birth have had nothing but problems with my body. DS damaged my tailbone on his way out and for the first 5 months of his life it was agony to sit for more than 10 mins and moving from sitting to standing was agony. It took lots of physio, chiro and acupuncture to get it better but I still have problems if I sit for too long. Also, my lower back is a lot weaker since his birth. My only fear with trying for #2 is how my body will cope 2nd time around given how long it has taken for me to recover from this birth.

Like you, I also sometimes notice some slight pain in my pubic bone but thankfully so far it isn't too bad.

As for the co-sleeping - if it is working for you then roll with it. You can always work on getting him back in the cot later. With you working 4 days a week sleep is vital. DS has never wanted to co-sleep with us (even when he is sick). He just sees our bed as a place to play and chat and now that he is crawling it is just a no-go zone for him. I envy anyone who can have sleepy cuddles with their babies in their beds!

Ally - very impressive you posting at 4am!!! You go girl!! That shift would be an awesome time to do work. I reckon that would work for me too. Can I ask what you do for a job? (You've probably said in the past but I can't remember - sorry)

cat - You're boys speech is impressive!!! We think DS says "dog" as he kind of says "do" every time he sees her. He does say Mum and Dad which is nice. His latest trick is to shake his head "no" when I tell him "no". It is so cute! He goes to touch the TV - I say "no" and he starts shaking his head "no" and crawls away (reluctantly)!!!

Our swimming is great. DS loves it! Last weekend when we took him the moment we walked into the centre he just started grinning and laughing. He's definitely a fan of the pool!

I haven't had anyone question me on the BF yet. My family are all big on BF and all BF up until (and beyond) 12 months. DH's family are the opposite and mostly formula fed but haven't said anything about me still BF.

[nikki08]

HD - I forgot to add that while we were co-sleeping we both slept really well and I needed the sleep because I was starting to feel really sleep deprived but I knew when it was time to go back to his cot because he stopped sleeping well in our bed and would wake regularly and try and play instead of sleep. So just do what feels right for you and both of your sleep needs, kids adjust to different situations fairly quickly I find.

Angeleish - a few friends have sworn by yoga leading up to conception and then throughout pregnancy. Apparently it helped them regain a normal feeling body quicker than when they didn't do it. I might try it, if there is a next time because like you and HD my body feel alien to me since pregnancy.

[angeleish]

Nikki - I reckon the yoga would be worth a shot even if for no other reason than to have some "me" time every now and then. If we get lucky enough to have a #2 then I'll have to arrange a weekend class so DS can have some Dad time and I can have some time to myself. I think I'll also keep up regular chiro and occasional acupuncture just to keep myself as "fine tuned" as possible.

[hopefulmama2b]

Hi Girls
Cat- nice to hear from you! Yup its tough working hey? I like being back, but i get home from work and its full on. I do bootcamp two nights a week currently but I am lucky Billy doesn't go to sleep till 9pm ish so I can see him when I get home, give him his bottle and have a cuddle before bed. I'm lucky my mum is looking after billy and doing my washing etc but wow its hard being a working mum! Hard to get things done, washing etc. Absolutely no plans for #2 for us, god I don't have the time! LOL. Very happy with Billy. Like I have said I will think about it in maybe 5 ish years.. I'm only 29.
angel- my body actually feels the best it has in years- I have dropped 40 kilos since Billy was born and feel great- another 20 kilos to go and I am done. Hoping to get them off by my 30th later on this year. That sounds painful about ur tailbone though! I do get a little lower back pain since Billy was born but thats all.

[nikki08]

Hopeful - 40kg! Wow that amazing! You must be working hard going to work, looking after a baby and going to boot camp. No wonder number two isn't the first thing on your mind right now. I hope you reach your goal :cheerleader1:

[angeleish]

Hopeful - way to go girl!!! No wonder you feel so great!!! :cheerleader1::smiliedance:That is a heck of a lot of weight to lose!! You're going to look super by your 30th!!

[allyoop8]

angeleish i just do night fill and the reason for a 4am mess i was ready bh on my phone when feeding lol

[nikki08]

Ally - I was thinking of doing nightfill, do you find it affects your ability to function in the early mornings? L wakes up around 5:30am for a feed, then is up and about by around 6:30am.

[EarthAngel75]

For those of you still undecided on first bday presents - we've just bought c one of those clamshell pools ($25 from kmart) and filled it with plastic balls ($20 for 100 from toys r us) and he just loves it!! Squeals with delight and goes in and out and flips over and tries to get all the balls out etc. Next summer I'll be using it as a pool too.

Hopeful: well done on the weightloss!! That's a big achievement!

[angeleish]

ally - Same Q here as Nikki... how do you cope with the nightfill and early starts? I've been thinking of doing it too.... until last week when DS pulled a few 4.30am starts!!! Usually he wakes at around 6-7am in which case I reckon I could cope okay. Hmmm it's food for thought anyway.....

earth - first birthday present finally sorted here. We got DS a flip out kiddy sofa bed and a trike. We didn't spend much this year as we figure that there isn't much that he needs and at this age he is easily pleased anyway. A friend of ours recently bought a clam shell and filled it with sand and their DS (11 months) loves it!! Sounds like the clam shell is the way to go. How's your FET cycle going???

[nikki08]

Earth - great idea. I have a clam shell so I might have to try that one.

[EarthAngel75]

Clamshells are so versitile!

Angel: sounds like you got some good presents for your ds for his bday. We also have a trike with parent handle (a little tikes one that toys r us had for half price before Xmas) that will be a present from someone in the family who lives afar. Tried c on the one in the shop just last week and he loved it and got cranky when I took him off.

Afm- day 3 of clomid today and first bt next Monday. I can feel the clomid starting to do it's thing.

[nikki08]

Earth - hope it's a good cycle and the time flies by. I'm sure C will happily distract you the whole way through ;)

[allyoop8]

hi girls night fill can be tough i try and ask my boss to be nice and spread my shifts over the week but next week he has given me 3 in a row

[angeleish]

ooh 3 nights in a row would be tough. Very tiring. Just a question Ally as I started to look into options near me... is there much heavy lifting involved?? Or is it pretty light stuff?

[allyoop8]

where is everyone gone
Hope your cycle goes smoothly

[angeleish]

Agreed it's so quiet in here these days. I guess this time last year we were all starting mat leave and without babies had heaps of time to spare.... this year with babies I'm just assuming many are too busy to post.

I'm hoping this thread doesn't die completely - it's been great to have the support of everyone in the past.... it would be a shame to lose it!

Either way ... I hope you guys are all well and your babies are doing well.

[nikki08]

Hey, still hanging about but L is keeping me busy most of the day. He is getting so active and wants to be entertained all day. I have found myself going to sleep around 8:30! I am more exhausted now than when he was a newborn :sleeping:

[angeleish]

Oh Nikki - I've done 8.30pm bed times too!! I always feel super charged in the morning though. I find now that my body doesn't do long sleeps anymore. After 7 hours straight I'm wide awake and ready to go. I guess my body clock is all out of wack!!

I'm also lucky in that DS will happily amuse himself long enough during the day for me to have a cuppa and some "me" time while he plays. He also follows me while I do the odd jobs around the house which means once he naps I too can take a short break before doing the few jobs that I can only achieve while he is sleeping!

[EarthAngel75]

Hey girls :)

Nikki: Sounds like you've got yourself one very active little boy! It's a good thing you live somewhere where it's warm all year so you can take him out to the park everyday once he's walking/running around to wear him out a little LOL! A friend of mine from MG has a boy that's just as active (she makes obstacle courses for him at home as she has all the equipment as she used to have a physio business back in the UK) to wear him out. C likes to be active (in that I can easily get him to do the course at gymbaroo and he really enjoys it) but he's no where near as busy as L sounds!

Angel: C is the same as your ds in that he can amuse himself for periods throughout the day. If he's clinging to me for some reason usually all I have to do is pull out some toys he hasnt seen before (or in a long time) and he's usually content to have a play by himself for a bit.

Ally: How's your ds going?

AFM: Had my first bt yesterday on CD11 and E2 levels very low still so have another bt and u/s on Friday. Hopefully things have picked up by then or this cycle may end up cancelled which means a break until end of May (don't want a baby due in Jan as thats when dd was born) which would kind of suck. Trying to get myself organized for our holiday to the sunshine coast for the week before easter until the long weekend and what I need to pack/bring etc. We're driving up so should be interesting to see how C goes on such a long car trip.

Has anyones LOs seemed like they are ready to transition to 1 day sleep yet? C has shown an indication of being ready but mainly still has 2 day sleeps most days (maybe once or twice a week he's only have 1 from 11am-1 or 2pm but will often then have a 30min catnap late in the arvo while in the car).

I can't beleive we are so close to April now and that means first bday parties!! It's amazing how fast time flies.

[EarthAngel75]

I can't remember if anyone who still frequents this thread is in Sydney but thought I'd pass this along just in case :) Found this listing on eBay which looks like it *may* go for quite cheap and includes an outdoor climber (we have the same one and ds already uses it), a water table (bubs LOVE these!), the FP toddler swing, an activity table, a teeter totter and even more! The climber itself is worth $399 new.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/STEP2-KANGAROO-CLIMBER-OTHER-TOYS-/180644904161?pt=AU_Toys_Hobbies_Outdoor_Toys_Struc tures&hash=item2a0f467ce1

[angeleish]

ooh earth that link looks fantastic!! So wishing I was still in Sydney!! What a bargain!!!

Sounds like our DS's are quite similar... when grizzly I either show him some toys he has long since forgotten, or drag his usual toys into another room (ie off the carpet and onto the floor boards) and he is usually then happy again. If all else fails then I just head out either to the supermarket or for a walk with the dog. He's pretty easy to please (thank goodness!!)

I hope your cycle picks up for you. If not, even though it may not seem it now... May really isn't too far away. With C I'm sure the time will fly. In the mean time I have my :fingerscrossed: that your cycle can continue.

As for day sleeps - most days DS is happy with 2 still. In saying that if we are out, he can easily miss a sleep and not suffer too badly. I'm guessing it will only be a matter of time before he drops to one. At the moment DS's gymbaroo and Swimming fit perfectly with his 2 day sleeps so I guess when the time comes to drop I'll have to re-negotiate his activities too!

[nikki08]

Earth - I hope the cycle picks up soon for you. At least this time you have C to keep you busy, I imagine that must help. As for day sleeps, L still likes two, sometimes three if he has short ones (like in the car), but mostly two. Every now and then he has one but he'll be so cranky at night and it's not worth the hassle.

L is really active, he was born active! I wonder if this energy will continue into childhood or if he'll calm down a bit. He's not hyper as such but he has to be busy, busy, busy all day. He won't sit still, he won't just watch TV or relax. The only time he is calm is when he is sleeping or not feeling well. Even when he has a bottle or a BF he fidgets and twists and turns and gets irritated because he is supposed to stay still. When he sits in the highchair to eat he hums and dances by bopping up and down. He is a lot of fun to play games with thought because he is fully interactive now and his favourite is peek a boo. He'll use a towel or a toy to hide behind and then he'll hide your face too which is very cute.

[angeleish]

Aww nikki he sounds super cute with the peek a boo game and playing at the high chair. He does sound super energetic too. DS is like L too in terms of BF now. I have to really make sure there aren't too many distractions around otherwise he just wont feed.

DS now "barks" after the dog barks. It's not really a "woof" sound but just a noise - him kind of copying the dog. He also loves to "dance" to music (kind of shuffles on his bottom) and copies gestures (eg wave, clap, touch your head etc). So cute!! I've also noticed that when he plays with his toy cars he makes a kind of "brrr" noise as if it is a motor.

Such a cute age.

I've just finished designing his first birthday invites...... So exciting to plan yet I feel a tad sad too. I can't believe the first year is almost over!!

[nikki08]

I've designed the birthday invites too and I know what you mean about it being exciting but a bit sad too. Still it's so much fun seeing them learn new things I think :)

Barking, that's cute. L sometimes crawls along and picks toys up with his mouth off the floor and carries them around like that. I am sure he's been watching the dog too much! When he starts licking the floor I'll get concerned ;)

[EarthAngel75]

Angel: All the good bargains on eBay tend to be in the big cities - Sydney especially. Although Melb region you get some different stuff at good prices but single items only (its like no one in melb uses eBay for such things or something!) What time is your gymabroo class? Down here they always have the under 1s at either 1pm or 150pm which is usually smack in the sleep window of babies that age. Ive just learned to work around it now. We're only doing 1 more term of Gymbaroo though and then we're going to check out kindermusic and do the Ymca's physikids (same as gymbaroo but operates as a drop in and only $9/session) when we've not go a fully loaded week already (i dont like having more than 3 activities/week). I'm looking forward when C is 18mths and can do proper Kindygym as he LOVES to gymbaroo circuit but the rest of the class he isnt so interested in.

Nikki: Was L extremely active in-utero? Ive heard theories on babies who were extremely active in utero continuing to be so once they're born and into childhood as well. L playing peek a boo sounds so cute. How funny he picks up toys like a dog LOL! The dancing sounds cute too.

Sounds like both your bubs are doing some really cute things. C makes a sound after the cats like your DS does angel with the dogs. Its quite funny. He also clicks his tongue and plays all kinds of games with it LOL We're getting a more definitive mum and dad now but not with any meaning yet. C also loves to walk around the house using his walker - he can even turn it's direction a little.

Sounds like you both are also on your way in terms of first bdays. Ive got my graphics being made by someone on Etsy - invites, cupcake toppers, water bottle labels, Thank yous, party favour tags and food labels. I'll have them by early May. Ive also sorted out my cupcakes (doing Vanilla and Chocolate Chai flavoured cupcakes with Chai buttercream icing), the iced sugar cookies (sugar cookies are sort of like shortbread). Ive also almost finished the Happy 1st birthday banner I'm making to hang up. I'm also doing a photo banner featuring a B&W photo from every month and Ive got the photos all edited and conveted for the months passed so far. I still have no idea what exactly I'm going to do for food at the moment though.

[nikki08]

Earth - sounds like you are going all out for the birthday. We're just having a simple get together with his playgroup / mothers group friends and family. A bit of party food, a cake and a few toys to occupy the kids between their morning and afternoon nap :)

L does the tongue clicking too, it's very cute. Yes he was very active inside too, he never stopped moving and you could see my belly moving from two metres away it was like a wave. The midwives used to comment he moved more in 10 minutes of monitoring than some babies did in a whole hour. So I guess that is true ;)

[angeleish]

earth - our gymbaroo is on at 12.30 which is at the moment perfect with DS's naps and lunch time. When we first started gymbaroo it always clashed with nap times (we have been doing gymbaroo since about 5 months) but now it is perfect. DS seems to enjoy both the mat time and the music activities so I am quite lucky. We also do swimming, mum's group and rhyme time. I will be joining a playgroup soon though to get to know some other mums in my area.

As for your party plans you are one organised mama! Sounds like a huge event!! DS's birthday wont be overly big and since I'm not much of a cooker the food will be quite basic. I'm still tossing up whether to order a cake or attempt making my own.

nikki - I've seen DS pick up toys with his mouth too!! Sometimes I swear he loves the dog more than me... lol!!

[EarthAngel75]

We are going all out for C's birthday. In my family we always do so - it's a special day just for them to celebrate their life and what they mean to us and everyone else who cares about them. It should make them feel special and like it truely is their special day. After this year C will get to pick his theme and his special outfit to wear to his party and what cake design he wants too and on his actual bday will get to pick what the family has for dinner. We're renting a cottage that belongs to an independant playgroup here (only $50 to hire!) that has a full kitchen, is full of toys for all ages and has a little tikes cottage cubby house and the little tikes castle cubby with slide indoors (castle goes great with my theme too!)

Angel: do you do rhyme time at your local library? Ours does this but not for under 2s (too much demand and it runs almost every day of the week and you even have to book in regularily to get a spot). We do playgroup. Started in Feb as that's usually when you can find an opening to get into one down here. We do one at the United Church as it's extremely well funded (don't need to be religious to go either) so has very good toys and equipment indoors and out. You also don't need to register with playgroups australia and it doesnt cost anything. I am thinking about checking out a local one that has some spots available though that I can walk too and is run out of a space at the local school. It's better structured (has a specified craft time, music time, play time and morning tea time). Have to bring a piece of fruit to share and $2 and again isnt associated with playgroups australia.

Is anyone doing anything special for easter with your LOs? We're up on the sunshine coast with DH's family and I'm hoping I'll be able to find an easter egg hunt for DS to participate in but they don't seem to be all that common here. I always had so much fun as a young child at the easter egg hunts our city council put on. I am making cute little bunny bags with a little something for each of the cousins and for DS and I plan to dye eggs with all the kids on the saturday before easter so we can have our own little hunt at home. C isnt getting any chocolate though. He's getting a colour changing mini football (changes with heat so when you touch it), a small bouncy ball that looks like a gem with all it's edges and a pop up toy with levers/buttons that make the animals pop up.

[nikki08]

Earth - it's nice that you make birthdays special, it's a nice way to celebrate a person. As for Easter, we won't do much this year because L will be too young to really understand but next year he'll be nearly two so I think he'll enjoy hunting for eggs. Probably just in our backyard and I'll probably do what my sister did and re-hide the eggs he's already found to make it last longer :laughing:.

Angel - I was going to bake a really fancy cake then I realised it would be more about impressing the guests than L who probably will only show a fleeting interest. So I'll save my creativity for when he is a bit older to actually have some interest in the cake. This year I'm going to make a giant cup cake (mould I bought). Hope it turns out ok!

[angeleish]

Earth - I think it's great that you're going to so much effort for C's birthday. We will still make the day special for our DS but it wont be a huge event - partly because we don't have family in the state and also because our house just wont accommodate a lot of people (it will be too cold to host the party outside). I also didn't want to spend money on hiring a venue. (In saying that though you got a great bargain for your venue... impressive). As I said, we'll still make it special but just with a small group people.

Nikki - In my books even a big cupcake is impressive!!! I'm seriously leaning towards just buying one. I don't mind baking but I'm not so creative with icing etc and don't have a lot of patience.

:celebrate: Not long to go now girls.

[EarthAngel75]

Nikki: I know that cupcake mold LOL! I was just showing it to a friend from MG yesterday. I have seen a few of them done in real life and they've always turned out well and look really neat. Are you just going to do the cake or are you going to have actual cupcakes to go with it?

Angel: tell me about it - being too cold to have a party outside. It SUCKS! I would have loved to have a party in the park and hired a petting zoo for C's first but it's just too cold here. Have you seen the woman's day kids cakes books? If you havent you should check them out - as a lot of them the icing part is actually quite simple but you use lollies and the like for the decorative part on the cake. Another amazing cake that is easy to make (although quite the rage at the moment) are rainbow cakes:
http://21amanda.glogster.com/rainbow-cake-recipe/

or a rainbow made out of candy on a simply blue iced cake:
http://en.surfer-girl.com/blog/how-to-make-a-rainbow-cake/

Or something that makes cute little individual serves of cake and easy to make are cake pops (just use betty crocker cake mix and bake - then crumble in a bowl and add better crocker ready made frosting until you get a fudge like consistency and roll into small balls - put in fridge to harden and then dip into melted candy melts). The pic below shows how simple they can be - but link shows how customized you can go.

(http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&biw=1276&bih=574&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=cake+pops&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=)

http://catykobe.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/2416152657_836df4fbe8_o.jpg

[nikki08]

Angel - lets see how my giant cup cake turns out first haha - I don't bake very often and like you my patience wears a bit thin with intricate decorating.

Earth - I think I'll just do the giant cup cake as a main cake and then make some other snack foods for the party. Have a sort of list for party food, trying to make it both adult and toddler friendly is the hardest part.

Luckily for us the weather means we can be outdoors on his birthday but we don't have a huge patio area that is child friendly as we are still in the process of renovating, so most of it will be indoors. Should be fun squeezing everyone in!

[hopefulmama2b]

Hi Girls

Hope you are all well! I have been trying to post, but SOOOOOoooo busy!

We are having a sesame street theme birthday party. I have bought nothing yet though, lol, despite it being 4 weeks to the day this sunday. I will start tomorrow- too hard during the week! I work, I bootcamp and I try and spend some time with Billy. I have got monday off so I am very happy and billy and I will spend the whole day together!
I was going to do a nautical theme but it seemed too hard lol. And I realised I was only doing it so I could wear this cute as sailor inspired dress I recently bought myself lol.. and tbh the dress is a little like what the girls wear in mean girls on Halloween- ie.. skanky lol.. so I will save it for another occasion LOL.
I am just going to do primary colour balloons/streamers.. I will get some 1st birthday helliums.. sesame street party hats/blowers/tablewear/candles etc.. I am going to attempt sesame street cupcakes and I will have a small white choc mud cake for his actual birthday cake made.. and will buy some sesame street cake toppers. It will just mainly be family, with some close friends.. maybe 25-30 people? Am hoping the weather is ok so we can utilise inside and our outside patio, but we will see. My mum does catering work on the side so she will make food like, mini fish cakes, spring rolls, quiches etc. Billy will be fine as long as I have a chunk of bread roll for him to chew on, loves his bread.

[hopefulmama2b]

oh PS I LOVE baking and I LOVE making cupcakes. I have NO patience but I am quite creative so my cupcakes usually end up looking cute and interesting.. but messy lol. I have been googling cupcakes all day and I am CRAVING some sugar, has been ages since I had something yummy, I may splurge tomorrow and buy a gooey yummy iced cupcake :yes:

[nikki08]

I can't believe here we all are planning first birthday parties, this year feels like it's flown by so quickly.

Hopeful - I hadn't even thought of a theme, I think I'll wait until he is a bit older and he can choose a theme then. For us this year it's really a party for adults, with a heap of toys and finger foods to keep the kids entertained :) I'm looking forward to it now it's getting closer :celebrate: We're keeping it small too, maybe a max of 20 - 25 people.

[nikki08]

Cat - wow N sounds like a really clever boy, all those words! L has only just mastered, Mamma, Dadda, sometimes he can say Nanna and today he said Bye for the first time. It was so cute. He does say all sorts of other things but they are in his own language and it's up to us to guess :) L has two naps a day. His first is about 1.5 hours, his second around 35 min. Some days he'll only have one, but they are not good days :(

For some reason L has taken to having more milk feeds again, it's like having a newborn again except the feeds are faster. Not sure why he has upped his quota but I assume he'll calm down again maybe when his growth spurt is up???

L can walk now, he's been taking steps for about a month now without holding on but only walking properly for a bit over a week now. He is now favouring walking to crawling as he has learnt he can carry toys and move quickly!

[angeleish]

ooh go L - what a little champion!!! He's been crawling for so long now... he was bound to be one of the first walkers in this thread!!! How exciting.!! Can't help with the milk feeds... DS really isn't that interested anymore except for the one after his afternoon nap. He still has 3 feeds a day but will happily miss one if we are out etc

cat - Wow at all the talking you are getting!! Amazing!!! Our DS doesn't have many words. He has sounds that sound like words but they generally are not in context. Sounds like you have a real communicator! Good luck with your Sophie cake.... think I'm just going to get a professional to do ours!! .... slack much!!??

hopeful - sesame street theme sounds cute!! DS loves watching sesame st songs on youtube. I have to say with your mum catering and you doing cupcakes - your party sounds delicious!!! Made my mouth water!!!

earth - thanks for the cake tips!! I had looked at the womens weekly book and thought perhaps... but I really wont have a lot of time near his birthday as DH is having eye surgery just before and I will also have both grandma's staying with us so I think I'll just keep it simple. Like you, I wish the weather was warmer here in May. As for the petting zoo - I'm thinking perhaps next birthday or even his 3rd I might do that. He just loves animals at the moment but is way too rough with fur to let near the poor things!

[nikki08]

Angel - I know a lot of people who ordered their cakes, especially if you have to feed quite a few people and there are so many other things to organise and not a lot of time. Plus baking cakes and running around after a one year old doesn't always mix. I'm lucky my MIL lives with us and she watches L if I need to do some baking etc. Otherwise I'd find it quite hard! Plus my mum will be here too, so there will be plenty of hands to look after him while I do the party work :)

[allyoop8]

hi girls wow sounds like all the kids are moving and chatting cute!
Hopeful If you have a look at my fb seths 1st bday pics i made an elmo cake Not that great but i was proud of myself lol

[hopefulmama2b]

Ally- I had a look on your FB, the cake looked awesome! I don't think mine will be that good lol.

I can't believe he will be one in two weeks! We have had a couple of shocking nights with him- I think he is cutting some back teeth.. He has ended up in bed with us the last two nights simply because I had to work and it was draining me to keep getting up and consoling him.. then my head would hit the pillow and he would be crying again.. He still sleeps in our room however so it's not too bad.. I must admit but, I love sleeping with him.. he is really cuddly. :)

How is everyone going cycling/1st birthday preps?
DH and I have been "potentially" thinking about our last embryo lately.. I am not ready for another baby and still am not 100% sure I actually want another but I just can't shake this feeling that perhaps my baby making days aren't done yet.. and I can't just let our last embryo go.. is it possible to get two BFP's from the one cycle? I don't know.. I think we are a little while off cycling again.. just thinking things over at the moment.. I have time, i guess- I am only 29.. Hmm

[nikki08]

Hopeful - like you I am still very undecided, part of me wants another child the other part of me doesn't want to let IVF interrupt our life again. I have left over embies too and I think if we do try again I'll limit my attempts to my frosties.

I too love it when L sleeps in our bed, I love the cuddles but these days he is getting to be too much of a fidget and I don't really get much sleep so most of the time he is in his own cot.

[hopefulmama2b]

Nikki, yeah i understand.. I think that if I had done a few cycles as you had with no success I would feel the same. I think because for me, IVF didn't really disrupt our life (just our bank balance) lol.. but I also think that IVF is bit of a game of luck and I feel like it would just be too much to ask to get pregnant off a thaw cycle after getting a BFP on our first cycle and transfer. Part of me thinks that because our only issue is DH's vas and they were able to extract decent sperm pretty easily last time, that we should be fine to get pregnant again.. but i dont want to be cocky!!
I think my pregnancy was more stressful than IVF and if DH and I were lucky enough to get pregnant again, I would deliver at Monash (high risk hosp) again under public because my delivery was fantastic, but I would have a private OB as my actual pregnancy care at Monash was pretty crappy.. I am not sure what the risks are of having another baby with IUGR are?

[nikki08]

The cost is a big issue but like you we had no real barrier to having success on our first cycle either. It was just unlucky. Once we had the donor, everything else was fine to go but even our doctor couldn't give us a reason for the first one not working. The second cycle which was our success cycle was perfect but once again, who knows why it was so much better than the first. It really is a numbers game. We have 7 or 8 blasties from that cycle so I sometimes think we should give them a chance but it still costs money and time. I guess I'll see how I feel when DS is two I think, I don't want to leave it too late though because I'm 30 now.

[hopefulmama2b]

yeah but Nikki, 30 is so young still.. I think I will consider a thaw cycle when Billy is 3. God. I never thought I would even be considering it lol.
Less than 2 weeks till billys first birthday, wow.

[nikki08]

I know, I am so excited about this first birthday milestone. It's been an amazing year :) You are right, 30 isn't old but I know that in the next few years I'll have to make a choice I can't leave it for years and years. Like you I am thinking by the time L is 2 or 3 I'll know what I want to do.

[Cat21]

Aww Hopeful, I hear you on the sleeplessness and work. I've still not had a full night's sleep and N is nearly 11 months old. It doesn't matter if he's teething or not - sleeplessness is sheer torture!

I hear you all on the TTC#2. It's so tough - I want to enjoy N but I've got lots more years on me than most of you so it's getting to a point of "now or never". I have to decide if I stop bfing then try naturally (which I really don't think will work) or just bite the bullet and use my frosties.

Earth and Happy - how are you going on your cycles?

We're still a month away from our first birthday here so very excited hearing you all talk about yours. I'm more excited about our first Easter and my first mother's day!

[happy dance]

Hi everyone, great to see this thread so active.

Hopefull, congratulations with your weight loss. You must be one hot mumma!!!! I comend the commitment given you are back at work and looking after Billy.

Nikki, you have all the time in the world to consider whether you want to extend your family. I think it is great that you want to focus with time on your precious boy and just enjoy the moment. I think it is harder for us IVF girls to forget about extending our family especially if we have frosties waiting.

Ally, I wish I was that talented and was able to make an elmo cake. We are now thinking of having a joint christening 1st B day. I rang the priest this morning but I got him out of bed and felt bad so I said I would ring back later. Hopefully I will be able to organise it within the next few weeks.

Cat thanks for thinking of me. I am actually doing a stim cycle as we speak. EPU is booked for 10am tommorow.

I also hear you on the sleep deprivation. C wakes up two to three times per night and will have a small bottle and then quickly fall back asleep. I think he uses the bottle as a sleep aid during the night, or he is just thirsty. I would love to try and wean him off night feeds but have no idea how to start. Ohhhh how I am so looking forward to a full night sleep.........

Earth, I really hope your cycle is going well and your postive results are in??

[nikki08]

HD - good luck for EPU, how exciting that you are back into the swing of things. As for night feeds when you find the answer please let me know! L is still up at least once a night for a feed and shows no sign of dropping it. Some rare nights he has slept through but mostly he wants milk at least once. Water won't placate him. He doesn't fuss going back to sleep after a feed so I just give in for now.

Cat - I think it's a hard choice for us IVF girls, we just want to enjoy our bubs but we also need to think about TTC and the time might take us. Sounds like you do want another bub though, so at least that choice is in your mind. We're still undecided about whether we would be happy with one or whether giving L a sibling will become more important.,

[hopefulmama2b]

Hi Girls

Actually, I think we must be one of the lucky ones- Billy sleeps thru the night every night.. apart from the odd night. He has a bottle about 9:30pm then off to sleep till he either wakes himself at 7am or I wake him. On weekends he sleeps a bit longer.. till 8amish?

HD- let us know how EPU goes. I actually feel more organised being back at work- although DH grumbled last night that he never gets to see me because I'm either at bootcamp/training, shopping (lol) or looking after billy.. might have to schedule a date night.

Cat- I am so excited about easter- we do a family picnic every year, last year I was 33 weeks pregnant at the picnic. Billy was one week old last mothers day so this will be my second mothers day :) Mothers day last year was the day we were both discharged from the hospital, lol.

Nikki- I agree with HD, enjoy your time with L and don't put any pressure on yourself. One of the guys at work funnily enough asked me the other week if I was having any more babies and I said Hmm.. maybe.. dunno.. and he said, you know what? Dont stress or even think about it, and one day you will just "know" if you want or dont want another.. i think that is very true!

[nikki08]

Hopeful - I agree, I think we'll just know if and when the time is right. Right now we can enjoy our boys :)

L has started sleeping through now I have made a fuss about him not sleeping through. He goes to bed at 6:30 but instead of waking up around 11 for a feed he sleeps through until 6-7am. No idea why but it might have something to do with the fact he has started running everywhere and he is exhausted at the end of every day :) He used to go to bed at 6pm but wake about four hours later for a feed, but he seems to have dropped that one now... we'll see if he keeps it up or if he regresses.

[angeleish]

Happy - Good luck for EPU. :goodvibes: I hope your EPU gives you lots of good eggs of a non easter variety!! (DS is the result of a 2009 easter EPU - good Friday) I hope your EPU close to easter results in something great for you and your family)

Hopeful & Nikki - I definitely agree that most people just "know" when and if it is right for them to go back for #2. I definitely think us IVF girls sometimes over think these things.

hopeful -Way to go Billy on his overnight sleeps!!! No wonder you are super charged with your bootcamping etc!!!

Nikki - Glad to hear your nights are improving too!! :smiliedance: Woo hoo to walking bringing good results for sleep... we had much the same when DS started crawling. His day sleeps improved big time. :fingerscrossed: That your DS's overnight sleeps continue!!

cat - I forgot that you missed mother's day last year!! How exciting that you are approaching your first!! I was still in hospital for mother's day last year and while hubby, my family and the hospital staff made it a really special day i was still quite zombie like and exhausted from the birth so I'm looking forward to enjoying it in a more relaxed manner this year!!

AFU - all is good hear. I have weaned DS off the night feeds completely. He was making it to the morning without a feed about 50% of the time so finally cracked it and decided it was about time we make it through every night without a feed. It was a pretty tough couple of nights at first but now it is going well. I do find though that now his wake up times are all over the place. Some days he is now ready to start the day at 5.30am.... others 6.30. Really hoping the 5.30 starts are temporary!!

[happy dance]

Nikki, Wooo Hooo I am so happy L slept all night for you. Hope L keeps its up so that you have some great night sleeps.

Hopeful, well done for Billy sleeping through. I might send C over to your place so you can teach him to do the same. I think the date night sounds like a great idea. Hubby and I definatley need something like that to focus on our relationship rather than just work and bub.

C had an easter treat at day care today. I finished work early to attend. They had a staff member in a bunny costume so C got a cuddle. They also had hot cross buns for afternoon tea and they made us a little easter bunny photo frame with our kids photos in them, they were absolutely gorgeous.

angeleish, EPU went well. I cant believe they were able to collect 21 eggs.... 20 were suitable for ICSI and 12 fertilised. Transfer is tommorow (my B day) so hopefully that is a good sign. I suppose i will find out in a couple of weeks.

Hubby and I have decided this is our last stim cycle. I get terrible side effects from the drugs (nausea, vomiting, diarrohea). I lost a couple of KG in the last week....I am sure I will put those back on with the consumption of easter eggs:D.

Hope everyone has a great easter.

[nikki08]

Angeleish - L wakes up around 5:30 or 6:30 but I just give him a quiet feed and put him straight back to sleep with a dummy in his cot afterwards. Sometimes he fusses but not for long. He then usually sleeps through until 7am. Maybe you could try and get him to go back to sleep too? I used to get up around 6am when he got up too, but now I just tell him we're not getting up before the sun!

HD - that sounds like a great result! I hope it happens on this fresh transfer :babydust1:

[allyoop8]

happy easter ladies hope you all enjoy your time with your family
Afm dh is working all weekend!
And i'm working sunday and tuesday yuk

[wishingforababy]

Hi Ladies, not sure if you remember me I lost my password so couldn't log in. Its wishing4ababy here.

Hope you are all well. My DS is 1 in 3 weeks we are looking forward to celebrating his special day. We're giving him 2 small parties, one with friends and the other just immediate family. Nothing big and no themes etc winnie the pooh cakes one with winnie and the other with Eyore and lots of decorations (he loves balloons).

Our big news is that I'm expecting baby number two:yes:, we are very excited. I had a full stim in March and got 20 eggs and this time 6 blasties (last time only 1). My Clinic now does PICSi so we had a better outcome. Still early days yet, I'm almost 8 weeks. I can't believe it happened first try again, i feel very blessed and thankful and so can't wait to have a newborn again. I always wanted kids close in age to play together.

I was very hesitant to write it on here as I know at the time I first mentioned trying again (last year) no one was too keen on thinking about having a no2 but every person's situation is different and I respect that.

My DS has been pretty easy to look after and sleeps really well (4 hours a day with 2 sleeps and also sleeps all night since 4 months). I"m loving this age he is crawling everywhere and walking holding on to things with one hand.

He only says a few words so far, dada, mumma, apple and if I count to three, he says tee at number three.

I'm still working from home (since DS was 6 weeks) although its very flexible and I'm not doing too much at all. I can't work when DS is up as he just wants to play all the time and has to have me in view otherwise he'll scream the place down. The house has turned into a toy zone, although honestly DS just prefers boxes and containers and spoons to play with !!:rolleyes:

We did have had a lot of troubles with DS & food. He just kept blowing rasperies every time anything went in his mouth and won't sit still in the high chair. We still make all his meals from scratch. These days he eats much better although occassionally when he has enough he'll spit it out with a rasperies kiss (so over that). Although if I carry on and sing / talk it "sometimes" gets him distracted enough to finish it...

I hope you all like my little update and I wish all your bubs a very happy 1st birthday.

[angeleish]

nawww!!! Wishing - Huge congratulations!!! :smiliedance: I was wondering if you went ahead with your stim and how you went. I'm so glad you posted us an update. Fantastic news!!! When are you due?? Do you feel any different this time to last time (morning sickness etc)?? Sounds like it was a very successful stim cycle both with your BFP and lots of embies!! Way to go!! Please keep us posted on your pregnancy's progress!

Sounds like your DS is just great!! What a champion sleeper you have!!! How cute that he does a "tee" for #3!! Hang in there with the food.... sounds like he's getting there.

ally - happy easter to you too!! Bummer about the work both for you and hubby. Hopefully you get some time to share some chocolate with your boys!!

nikki - I've tried to re-feed when he wakes early and get him back to sleep but it never seems to work. He's definitely awake for the day at that time (chatting loudly and standing in his cot!). I try to leave him be for a while to chat to himself and give myself a little more shut eye but after about 10 minutes he must get bored with his conversation and starts to winge for some extra company. It's not so bad once I'm up.... it's just the initial wake up which is a little difficult :sleeping:

happy - what an egg haul!!! Good news on the embies too!! Sorry that the stim cycle was a little tough on you... enjoy indulging on the chocolate to make up for it. Good luck for this cycle. It sounds promising so far!! Keep us posted!

Oh and happy birthday too!! :celebrate:

[nikki08]

Wishing - :smiliedance: congratulations on the successful cycle and expecting number two. You sound very happy to be having two bubs close together :) My friend is having her second in a few weeks and her oldest hasn't even celebrated his second birthday yet, but she is thrilled that they will be close in age.

Angeleish - L still likes his early mornings but I can't really expect too much of a sleep in, he does go to bed at 6pm! If I were in bed that early I wouldn't be sleeping in until 8am either ;) Just think in a few years we'll be bribing them out of bed with cereal and toast to get ready for school haha.

[wishingforababy]

Thanks Nikki and Angeliesh :) I'm definitely relieved it wasn't a long process as I was dreading putting my DS through it, but thankfully there wasn't many scans / bt and I worked it around his up time.

I was nervous leaving him with my mum on EPU day (I wrote a page of notes!) as I've never left him with anyone only DH on the rare occasion. But it worked out well as I was back at 10:30am. As for how I'm feeling, funny as last time in the 2ww I had lots of cramps (with DS) but this time absolutely nothing until I was 6 weeks.

I was certain it didn't work. And also last time I got hardly no m/s and this time not stop nausea feeling (even during the night). It really goes to show every pregnancy is different I was surprised. I'm due early December.

I know I know its going to be extremely HARD as DS will be 19 months but I'm always one who loves a challenge. They always say if you get a good baby the first time chances are the 2nd time round you wont! :rolleyes:

Good luck happy with your transfer hope all goes well :fingerscrossed: the support you have gotten from the girls made me want to share my news as well.

We took DS to church this morning for Easter first time since his christening and he wouldn't stop chattering and smiling at everyone. I kept covering his mouth everytime he got loud and he'd start licking my hand cheeky!

Angeliesh, DS usually gets up at 6ish too but I try and not walk in till 7am (we're still following good ole tizzi hall here) but many a time I've had to get him out as he knows we're up (DS gets up at 5:30am for work and russel's around too loudly). Although funny enough lately as he's been standing in his cot and stands then sits, up and down 20 times he actually tires himself out and goes back to sleep in the morning! Although other times I get him out of bed and we watch Sunrise show together! every day tells a different story with our little ones :yes: sometimes what works one day won't work the next!

[nikki08]

Wishing - it's so true, every day is different what works one day will just not work the next. So each day is a new adventure :) I'm sure you'll cope really well with two young children. There is a big difference between a 12 month old and a 19 month old. He'll be able to help you fetch nappies and bottles for the baby and feel involved. L loves babies already, he pats them on the head and says, "bubba".

[angeleish]

ooh wishing - different pregnancy symptoms... maybe you have a little girl on board!!??:cheerleader1: You sound like a pretty organised person... I'm sure you'll cope brilliantly with 2 close in age. Other people have done it before and been ok and so will you. Also agree with Nikki a 19 month old is very different to a 12 month old!! How exciting!! :goodvibes: .... oh and :fingerscrossed: your next baby is as sound a sleeper as your DS!

nikki - I'm with you... since our baby's go to bed early we can't expect them to sleep through till 8 (although it would be nice!). DS has never really been a 12 hour sleeper. 10.5 hours is usually the norm. With this in mind I don't put him to bed until 7.30 to try to minimise the VERY early starts. (Doesn't always work). I'm not a big sleeper myself so I think DS takes after me in this regard.

Well the easter bunny left DS a chocolate Bilby this morning. He's already had some of the ears. DH wanted to give him some for breakfast but luckily I stopped him in time!! I'm sure in the future for easter DS wont wait at all to work his way through his stash!! With the small amounts of chocolate that he eats at the moment we should get good value out of our chocolate bilby!!

Happy easter everyone!!

[hopefulmama2b]

wishing! OMG how wonderful! great news!

Hope everyone had a great easter.. we did. I have been soo good dieting but I splurged this weekend.. back on track tomorrow! Billy got SO much chocolate. I'm giving it all away LOL.. he loves chocolate way too much!

[happy dance]

wishingforababy, congratulations with your latest pregnancy. Your news brought a huge smile to my face. I am so happy for you and your family.

I have always wondered what personality another bub would have,. I too have heard most have an angel baby then one that is a bit more work. I have also heard if your first bub is pretty easy going then the second is pretty similar, so who knows.

angeleish, We have been naughty with C's diet this week. He had some of my bday cake which he thorougly enjoyed. He also knows what choclate is and will crawl over in a hurry and start whinging until I give in. Ohhh I can already envisage a trantrum when I dont give him what he wants.

Nikki, I am slowly getting anxious in this TWW. I wasnt that concerned last cycle....maybe its the crinone???? Need to keep myself super busy to keep my mind off the wait.

Hopeful, hope you enjoyed your chocolate fix. Good idea to give your chocolate away. I find it calls my name if I have any in the cupboard.

[Cat21]

Woohoo Wishing! Congrats! That's absolutely fantastic! Congrats also on having such a great routine and sleeper with your DS. I'm pretty sure I have the absolute worst sleeper on this thread but I can assure that, even if your #2 isn't as easy as your #1, it's still wonderful every single day! Nikki is right, though, DS will be able to help you out so much - apparently 20 months is the absolute perfect age gap between kids (someone is getting rich on some thesis he/she has written) so looks like you'll have almost the perfect age gap! And what a great Christmas you'll have - I bet, a couple of years ago, you couldn't even have imagined it!

Happy - good luck!!! God, I'd completely blocked out crinone! I've got all my :fingerscrossed: for you - I have a good feeling we might be getting some more good news on this thread. We might have to change the title to "Winter bubs 2010 and summer 2011/12 bubs!".

We had a really good Easter despite N going through some pretty nasty teething. He's a late teether but the first few came through without much drama but the eye teeth are killing him (and us). Poor little man - he's always such a happy little guy but he was pretty miserable all weekend. At least today he's pepped up a bit and had a miracle 2 and a half hour day sleep today! Incredible. On the downside it meant we couldn't get a second sleep out of him but we went for a long walk this afternoon and he almost devoured an entire rusk (which has never happened either)!

We're also thinking we need to really think about TTC #2 but keep hoping N will let us have some sleep first. Wishing and Happy have me inspired - and also the mere thought of the chance #2 might actually sleep more than three hours overnight :D Who knows. I just think I need to get to my FS and get that initial appointment out of the way.

Hope you all had a good Easter - I have the whole week off work so very very excited to be hanging out with my boys all week :celebrate: Although I am trying to avoid the massive stash of chocolate N inherited over the weekend!

[nikki08]

Cat - the first few teeth came through fine for us too but these eye teeth are such a pain. Poor L has been really grumpy all week and one day was so upset, he was rolling around on the floor throwing a tantrum until the panadol kicked in for him.

Wishing - your news has made me think that maybe we will start planning when we should try for our second...

HappyDance - I have everything crossed for you, it's such an anxious time the two weeks but I imagine that with Easter and C you've been fairly busy. Am hoping we have more good news on this thread soon!

[wishingforababy]

Thanks for all your thoughtful words I really appreciate it, I love reading them. I'm glad our news is making some of you think about number two! I know our babies can be hard work but look at the little characters they are now its so much fun to watch. Its also nice when they're asleep and we can... relax.

We don't have many teeth here only 4, but one just appearing on the bottom left. No eye teeth yet, I heard they're really painful.

What do you girls do for finger food. DS still prefers pureed stuff and odd lumps. He is a struggle to eat anything just mashed (although some days he surprises me). As for finger food I still feed him food but he can eat toast. If I give it to him it ends up on the over the high chair onto the floor (he actually waves when it disapears!).

Although sometimes he'll gnaw at a cucumber. I've seen a baby of a friend pick up and eat peas! DS would just swip them so it flys onto the floor. Kids are fun aren't they.

DS gets very excited when he sees his water cup he literally jumps up and down in excitment! You''d think it was alcohol!

Happy, I've heard so much about this awful crinone. I've had pressories both times. Funny my FS gave me crinone and I wanted to keep what I had last time. Why change things when it worked first round. Hopefully you can join me on this ride soon.

Wonder if I'm probably the only mother didn't let DS have any chocolate! I know not even a taste.

Off to a first birthday soon, its pooring in sydney today !

[Cat21]

Oh Nikki, I know. I didn't even know the first teeth came through until he was chewing on my finger! The fangs were more obvious but damn the eye teeth! Only one has come through and it's been cracking through so slowly for over week. It's awful. Someone told me the fangs are worse but these eye teeth are hideous.

OMG not long for you and Hopeful and your first birthdays! How exciting!

Wishing - your DS sounds like mine! My monkey won't hold any food in his hand to eat except to chew on a rusk. Today we had a breakthrough and he finally held on to and ate toast instead of tossing it over the high chair - he loves then peering over - he goes so far I wonder how he doesn't fall out! He's easily eaten lumps and a massively wide variety of food - everything from pastas to curries and soups and all sorts of things - but he just refuses to pick up and eat food! He's so good with his hands with playing with toys and turning pages in books and he can throw balls so easily too but food is another story. And, yes, we have the water dance with his water bottle too - N absolutely loves water and limiting it is tricky given how much he loves it! I don't want him filling up on it! I've tried steamed carrots and brocolli and lots of other vegies - he love his vegies - but no go. I've also tried pasta and even ravioli or agnolotti which he absoultely loves but not a chance! Cheeky monkey.

Wishing - were you breastfeeding before you went through this cycle? If so, how long did you stop before you started your cycle? Hope this isn't too personal!

I'm loving having this week off work - I haven't felt this relaxed in a very long time!

[butterfli]

Hey CAT, glad I'm not the only one with DS and food. I agree he is great at handling toys etc but still practicing on holding the food. Although he can hold a cucumber and a rusk for long periods.... other things I need to persevering on. He can chew food that I hand give him so thats ok.

As for breast feeding. I was b/f up to 3 months and expressing the rest of the time (I had hassel's with DS latching). I rang my clinic and they told me best to stop b/f 2 months before my cycle to give it the best chance which I did.

The only reason we tried for number when DS was 10 months was I heard it can take ages...years even and I'll be 35 at the end of the year and I don't have that time. I was 100% it wouldn't work first go again.

Not sure if the regular accupuncture helped and taking chinese herbs. Although my FS told me to get off the c/h once the cycle started as it tampered with b/t results. I honestly think healthy eating is the best thing. For us we had no coffee / alcohol etc (we'll I haven't in 3 years) but DH just for the past 6 months.

I think I answered more stuff that you asked to know but hope you find it helpful.

[butterfli]

oops just in case you dont know who I am, butterflii = wishing4ababy :)

[EarthAngel75]

Hey girls! :)

We're back from our holidays on the sunshine coast and boy this thread has been active since. Lots to catch up on.

Hopeful: I wouldnt be too worried about having an IUGR baby again. My dd was very IUGR like Billy and Corbin was the complete opposite and huge! Also my friend who's dd was born the same time as my dd and also IVF had IUGR with her dd but then with her triplets didnt have any IUGR probs at all (all born around 2kg at 33w). My mum did find some info about High BP meds causing IUGR though right before I had C which is interesting. Lots of other ways to keep BP down (accupuncture does it really well as did eating 2 sticks of celery/day for me).

HD: Sounds like you had good results from your EPU. I hope this fresh cycle is the one for you :) When is testing day?

Wishing: Congrats on expencting #2!! How exciting for you and your family :) I think people who say if you have an easy one the next will be hard are full of rubbish. My friend who has a 3.5yo who was an extremely easy baby (sleeping through at 10w and no Tizzie or other such methods used) and who now has 7m old triplets - all of whom are VERY easy going and have slept through from 12w old goes to show you that anything is possible.

DS didnt get a lot of chocolate for easter and what he did get (an egg and a chick) he wasnt allowed to eat. He got some balls, some books, a big box of mega blocks instead.

AFM: Well my cycle was cancelled as we ran out of time (leaving to go on holidays) and my hormones still weren't playing nice LOL Next cycle which will start soon looks like we'll be faking O (get to whatever day when Ive got a good lining and then start prog to fake O). I really hope the clinic knows what they are doing as we only have 3 frosties. No research out there on faking O as it's only something that needs to be done in Australia due to the medicare laws regarding FETs (no injectibles are allowed to be prescribed).

It's good to be back from holidays as C was a cling-on! He has cousins who are 10,11 and 16 who tried picking him up and always touching him etc which he really didnt like. Not to mention the 5am waking time every morning due to the light and bird sounds. He's also teething pretty badly at the moment - wondering how many teeth are trying to make an appearance as he's still only got the bottom 2 at 10m old.

[nikki08]

Earth - I've heard the success rates with a stimulated (fake) FET and a natural FET are pretty much the same, only with the stimulated if you get pregnant you have to keep taking progesterone for 12 weeks until the placenta kicks in. The good thing about that type of cycle is you don't have to keep waiting for your body to play along, they can use drugs to mimic the stages and it's more accurately time. Good luck!

Butterfli / Cat - L eats most things now but for a long time he preferred his food pureed. I tried all sorts of stuff but he just picked it out and spat it out. I was getting worried he'd be eating pureed food in kindy because all of his friends some younger were eating more finger foods than he was! However about 4-6 weeks ago he started eating a more balanced diet and now I just make him sandwiches for lunch, I mash potatoes, peas, corn, cheese together roughly for him and he loves finger foods including biscuits, fruit, pieces of cheese, meat. I think you just have to wait until they are ready and every child is so different. The only thing I really did was keep offering the finger / lumpy foods every second day alongside what I knew he would eat and one day he just ate it with vigour.

[butterfli]

Thanks Nikki, I'm sure persistance will pay off and we'll get there in the end. He eats sandwiches, toast, cheese sticks etc but only stuff I give him broken into big peices. As for eating himself... it ends up on the floor!

Thanks Earth, for the reassurance that hopefully my two kids will be good. I hope your right. I'm sure if we stick what we did with DS with our routines then fingers crossed:fingerscrossed: we'll have an all night sleeper on our hands again.

Sorry to hear your cycle was cancelled. I hope your right and your clinic is clued up with what progam they have you on to make sure your embie is inserted at the right time.

Happy, how are you going? when is your b/t.

[angeleish]

Happy - How is the TWW treating you??? When is your BT? Good luck!! I hope this one is the charm.

cat - with your little one's night time antics I think you well and truly deserve a sleepier #2!! Hope the teething is settling down for you. grrrr to those pesky teeth!!

wishing - I can't help you too much with finger food tips. DS is an excellent eater so we thankfully don't have any battles with either spoon fed or finger food. All I can think of is perhaps offer the finger food first when he is really hungry? (Although you've probably already tried this). DS probably just loves his mummy feeding him and the interaction it provides. I'm sure he'll get there in his own time.

earth - sorry your cycle was cancelled. I hope you have better luck this time around!! :fingerscrossed: for you!! As for the early starts.... we're in that camp too.... Not sure why as it is pitch black here when DS wakes.... I just think by about 10 hours sleep in a row he's done!!

AFU - We now have 8 teeth (4 top and 4 bottom). Number 9 should be here any day now (we can see it but it isn't through). DS has also had a cold this week so it's been pretty messy with the constant dribble and runny nose.... eewww!!

[happy dance]

butterfli, I often give C finger food while he is on the floor. I can be messy but I make sure the floor is clean before and after I feed him and at least he gets an opportunity to get more in his mouth.

So how are your pregnancy symptoms??

Cat, My FS recommended I stop breast feeding for three months before starting my next cycle as it helps to build up the uterine lining.

Earth, sorry to hear your cycle was cancelled. I have done both medicated and natural FET cycles. Personally I prefer medicated as the clinic has more control of what is happening. My last FET was with injectables so not sure what you mean about medicare laws???


Nikki, glad your little boy is starting to enjoy normal food. I think it is lovely when we can all enjoy the same meal together (which hasnt been that often). But it is very rewarding when it happens.

My official blood test is Wednesday. Hubby and I have had the week of work. I have been very tired (but I have also been catching up on so much lost sleep). My appetite is improving and my tummy is still very distended. Apart from that I have no idea whether this cycle has worked. I also had three ovideral (HCG triggers) so I personally think it would still be in my system. I will probably cave and do a HPT next week and will only trust the results if it is negative as I have had false positives in the past.