any other over 35 first time mums?

[Claireyb1]

View attachment 554623

Can I ask your opinions ladies?
I have attached a picture of Lucy and wondered if any of you ladies think I need to correct her ears? she has inherited my ears which I got from my maternal grandfather (my mum has them too) The reason I ask is that the doctor I saw the other day asked if my ears had bothered meas a child ? and did I want to do anything about Lucy's? there is this product called ear buddies which are sticky splints which need to be worn 24hrs a day, but because she is now over a year she would have to wear them for 4+ months and you cannot get them wet etc, so no swimming and bath time would be tricky?
What would you do?

first of all - I think she is sooooo cute!
then, would it be mainly for cosmetic reasons? did it bother you as a child?
I don't think I would do anything

It would be 100% for cosmetic reasons. No health problems etc.
I must admit I was bothered by my ears as a child and now as an adult too(not so much now) they always poked out of my hair! and I never liked wearing my hair up so grew long hair to cover them
I was never teased at school or anything but I didn't like them.
It's a shame I didn't know about these ear buddies earlier as if you use them on a newborn you can correct the ear in 2 weeks! I just think at here age now it would distress her too much and as it is for cosmetic reasons I'm not sure it is appropriate - they aren't that bad! are they?

 

[kosh]

View attachment 554623

Can I ask your opinions ladies?
I have attached a picture of Lucy and wondered if any of you ladies think I need to correct her ears? she has inherited my ears which I got from my maternal grandfather (my mum has them too) The reason I ask is that the doctor I saw the other day asked if my ears had bothered meas a child ? and did I want to do anything about Lucy's? there is this product called ear buddies which are sticky splints which need to be worn 24hrs a day, but because she is now over a year she would have to wear them for 4+ months and you cannot get them wet etc, so no swimming and bath time would be tricky?
What would you do?

first of all - I think she is sooooo cute!
then, would it be mainly for cosmetic reasons? did it bother you as a child?
I don't think I would do anything

It would be 100% for cosmetic reasons. No health problems etc.
I must admit I was bothered by my ears as a child and now as an adult too(not so much now) they always poked out of my hair! and I never liked wearing my hair up so grew long hair to cover them
I was never teased at school or anything but I didn't like them.
It's a shame I didn't know about these ear buddies earlier as if you use them on a newborn you can correct the ear in 2 weeks! I just think at here age now it would distress her too much and as it is for cosmetic reasons I'm not sure it is appropriate - they aren't that bad! are they?

not at all. I don't think I would have noticed them if you hadn't said so.

 

[Storm1jet2]

I think she is beautiful as is, BUT I can understand that if your ears bothered you that you might want to consider it, maybe the ear buddies wouldn't bother her? My sil nephew had his ears pinned back when he was older as his choice, is that an option? Btw L has massive earlobes like her daddy and there is nothing we can do about that other that grow her hair just kidding I love her just as she is

 

[Claireyb1]

I think she is beautiful as is, BUT I can understand that if your ears bothered you that you might want to consider it, maybe the ear buddies wouldn't bother her? My sil nephew had his ears pinned back when he was older as his choice, is that an option? Btw L has massive earlobes like her daddy and there is nothing we can do about that other that grow her hair just kidding I love her just as she is

Oh I just don't know now???? surgery is an option later,but seems very drastic ?

 

[Borboleta]

Claire: like kosh said I would not have noticed her ears if you hadn't mention . I think they are cute but like the other ladies said if they bothered you maybe you could try the ear thing and if it is too much work then I wouldn't bother and just let her decide later on if she wants to have plastic surgery done.

I know a lady that her daughter has a birth mark on her face and she is 3 years old now. She told me that she wanted to have that taken cared of soon because kids would definetely make fun of her because of it but her husband didn't want her to do it yet. So maybe when she is a little older they will. But her birth mark is a lot more noticeable than L's ear. A lot more .

 

[SabrinaKat]

again, I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't mentioned - claire! perhaps consider when she's a little older and she might decide she cares/she doesn't?

hope all are well - am trying to be cheerful and am hoping LO takes a nap today, but I am going to bed when OH gets home....

bye!!!!!!!!!!!!(yawn)

 

[clio]

I guess my feeling is: why not, if it's that easy? Who cares if it's just cosmetic? (And I didn't see the problem, by the way, but what a cutie Lucy is!)

I think that this is such a minor procedure that it can't cause any harm to do it. And this vs. an operation later in life, well, that's no contest...

 

[clio]

Storm--it does sound as if L is going through a growth spurt. Is she sleeping more than usual? J always eats more and sleeps more during a growth spurt. How does she usually act during them?

 

[SabrinaKat]

LO took a long nap this afternoon, so I think we're both feeling a little better...I really hope, though that he sleeps a bit better tonight!

and of course, that we ALL get some decent sleep!

bye!!!!!!!!

 

[AngelUK]

I am so behind again I am not even trying to catch up with personals. Sorry! I will however try and stay on top of things better from here on.
Just a few things:

Kosh Gael looks so cute! I cannot see the pics any bigger for some reason but from what I can see he is a sweetie And it is so lovely seeing you here a little more. How are you feeling?

Claire I agree that I wouldn't have noticed it had you not pointed it out. I think Lucy is extremely cute as is. But saying that, we look at her from a grown up perspective and not a child's. So if you suffered cause your ears were sticking out a bit, even though you didn't get teased, then chances are that Lucy will too. If I were you I would try the ear things and if is awful for her and very impractical then stop. I think I would rather try this than rely on an op later on. And just cause something is purely cosmetic doesn't make it invalid. It isn't as if you are giving her a Melanie Griffith pout lol xxx

All is well here but that last nap of the day is still rather difficult for us. Today they hadn't one and were up from 1:30 till 7 their bed time. Sebastian was whiney from 5 onwards and had a proper meltdown with sobs and sobby after-tremors while I was trying to rock him to sleep. Didn't take long but still, very tiring late afternoon! On the other hand they had the perfect 45 mins 3rd nap yesterday till 4:30 and it took us 1 hour to get them to sleep. So I don't know, I thought by this age we would have figured it out but nope. Still learning and guessing. Sigh.
Went to see a friend and her 5 week old son today. I had forgotten how tiny they are that age! And while I did get super broody holding him, I must admit that my boys' age is a lot more fun than those first few months, huh? Ah well, it was cute holding a newborn again that is for sure. But also nice to hand him over again to his mum lol. But I did pale with envy a little when she told me that in the last 2 or 3 nights her boy had been sleeping from 11 to 7. Man! We have NEVER had that, not even once since they were born. I wouldn't have believed it possible lol.
Though saying that, Nick says that last night Sebastian sttn without a feed but tonight he left 80ml of his 180ml bed time bottle so I am tempted to dreamfeed him when Dominic wakes for his bottle. Not sure yet. Also Dominic wanted his bottle only at 2:40am but I think that is cause he had a sob session of 7 minutes at 11pm where we let him CIO. The boys then slept till 6:45!! It is a terrible thing to say but Dominic tends to sleep longer when he has been crying. Still I would really rather not that he cried and that he slept that long in the morning as a matter of course.

FOOOD! xxx

Eta: Posted these on FB but thought Id put them here too.

My sunny Dominic


My bunny-pixie Sebastian

 

[Leeze]

Hi everyone. Still not caught up with the thread since my weekend away and having no signal but wanted to say hello and that i'm thinking of you all. I've got about 5 more pages to read before I catch up! Hope to get back in the loop soon. We're ok. OH has man flu. Kia started taking a few steps at the weekend. Very exciting. Lovely weekend with old friends and Kia coped very well with it all, even the 7 hour train journey each way.

 

[Storm1jet2]

Morning ladies - thought it was about time I did a decent update!

Clairey I have been thinking about Ls ears and I think personally I would use the ear buddies and if they really annoyed her then I would abandon that. I don’t think her ears are a big problem but if it’s a painless temporary procedure then why not try? If you grew your hair long and didn’t like wearing it up then maybe L will feel the same? Oh its so hard being a parent! What do DF and your mum think?

SK – have you managed to get any more sleep, its awful being sleep deprived and even worse when you have to go to work and try and be a coherent adult!

Borboleta – how is little T getting on with the ball kicking? I love the utube video, so so cute. Are there any other jobs about that your husband might be able to apply for? I gathered from your previous posts that the lack of job is starting to get to him?

Angel – your boys are just too precious, I love to see photos of their handsome little smiley faces. Oh and don’t talk to me about other peoples babies, a girl I know who’s daughter is about 5 months older than L has slept through from 7pm-7am since she was 7 weeks old! I don’t think L is ever going to sleep through…

Clio – I am ashamed to say I don’t actually know what L is like during a growth spurt, I guess she just eats more. Ls nightime behaviour is so erratic and has been so bad (reflux and wind) that its only the last couple of months that I’m sussing out what she is at… She has grown into this amazing little intelligent person and I feel like she is training me!

Leeze - the photos of K of FB are just lovely and that is great she did so well on the 7 hour journey! I don't fancy trying a 7 hour journey with L just yet. Loved the photo of you and K and OH, what a precious little family

Skweek and Charlie hope the little ones are doing well.

Kosh - hope you are getting some more sleep – even a little.

Rowan – Whoop whoop c section date set – how exciting and I am relieved you are having a section so I don’t know how you feel… so exciting.

And this is my little section about L, oh my goodness that little lady never ceases to amaze me. We are walking properly now although still walking in a slightly odd manner, my dad says she walks like she is an alien atmosphere with extra gravity – but we are walking – laps of the living room and kitchen diner last night  As for the night time feeding I’m pretty sure it’s mostly habit, she uses the bottle as her comforter, she won’t take anything else and man have I tried everything, dummy, teddy, cat teddy, rabbit, blankets you name it. So I have a new plan, I got some pink nuby bottles which are non drip, they are half way between a bottle and the non drip sippy cup. So now I can hand L the bottle and fall back to bed knowing that when she chucks it across the cot it won’t leave a milky puddle. Obviously it’s not the solution I would like but I can’t deal with her screaming for hours on end for her bottle and I don’t want to be up for more than a few minutes. Last night she had about 15oz milk during the night in the new bottles which was less than the night before. I’m hoping she likes these bottles a little less and eases up… We got to 5.30am and then she pointed at where her bottle would be, lifted her arms up and pointed at the door, as in I want my bottle but I want it in your bed.. she is a right little madam  She still ate her breakfast mind you so maybe she is hungry??? On the upside she goes into her cot no problem at all now and sometimes she even pushes the books away and points to her cot because she wants in! She doesn’t scream the place down when I leave her in the cot, she just settles herself and goes to sleep – its so sweet.

Well Im glad it’s Friday, hello weekend, I have my brothers boys tomorrow so that will keep L amused for a while, I might even take them to McDs although L can’t really eat anything in there.. hmm I think they do fruit bags or something that might amuse her 
Better go and do some work…. Busy day ahead of me today!

 

[Rowan75]

Hey ladies

claire - oh what a scary time that must have been for you guys! Hope Lucy is on the mend x

what a gorge pic! Re her ears - I dont think I'd do anything tbh I wouldnt have noticed anything either – my sisters r ear is similar and she loves the fact that its handy to tuck her hair behind but it may be worth trying to see if the ear buddies bother her before dismissing it – if she finds them ok then that would be good but if she doesnt then you know you’ve tried (and can tell her so when shes a stroppy teen lol)

re MMR- on day 10 now and since day 7 M has been her normal self but these awful nappies continue – so not sure if its related or not - Ms friend who is dairy intolerant was fine with the MMR


re books – M's favs at the mo are

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Noisy-Foot...7777/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1359110731&sr=8-8

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Noisy-Body...5142/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1359110731&sr=8-9

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Farmyard-T...39/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1359110744&sr=8-21

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bedtime-Wi...3950/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359110755&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Busy-Books...0032/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359110764&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Is-This-No...75/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1359110772&sr=8-10


and toys are:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fisher-Pri...YXAA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359110790&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vtech-Rock...WV9S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359110801&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vtech-Elec...5KFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359110809&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fisher-Pri...THUY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359110817&sr=8-1

one like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Melissa-Do...f=sr_1_1?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1359111027&sr=1-1

and her hammer bench

these are toys which are split between our house and my folks house - she adores her radio which is at their house so its a battle of wits to hide it from her before we leave lol!

Ive got my section date woo hoo! Thanks Storm – I am so relieved – its like I can start looking forward to meeting him now instead of just feeling anxious – 10 weeks to go – section on 4th April – I go in at 8am and hopefully it'll be done on the morning - then hopefully ma and pa will bring Martha to see us at visiting on the pm – dh is going to stay at the hospital on the pm and then head to my folks in time to pop M to bed and will stay there – so he's in the same room as her and has back up lol then I should be out of hospital on the Friday - yey! Not in for the days and days I was after Martha!

The consultant was brill she’s so funny and we just click so I hope she’s working that day - so impressed by the differences in that hospital compared to the other one!

Going to see my friend who has a 2.5 yr old and a 1 month old shes saying shes finding it hard – not been dressed in days bless her – corr hard work to come! Seems like the new baby has reflux tho so that’s added challenges isnt it – their dr wont give them gaviscon yet but has given meds for the thrush - id forgotten about M's white tongue and mouth before she got the gaviscon! Im going to take her a box round and its up to them if they try it I figure but nice to have the option

M napping so Id better plan the meals and write the shopping list!

Have a good day everyone x

 

[SabrinaKat]

LO was very fussy last night/no sttn -- I had a terrible migrane (I get them occasionally and I was fine with looking after LO, but needed a warm lavender heat pad for my neck (I get migrane over my eyes and oddly since a long-haul flight to Oz back in 2008 where I did something to the base of my neck, now on my neck), so I call to my OH to go microwave my neck thing AND HE TURNED ON ALL THE LIGHTS AND CAME INTO THE ROOM, thereby almost killing me with bright lights and completely waking LO up (this was about 2am).
OH: Have you fed him?
ME: No (he's not hungry).
OH: Did you give him calpol (no, it's not his teeth, it's his cough)...

so...OH takes LO into the living room and LO gets his revenge -- by throwing up all over OH when he tries to give a bottle to LO, who isn't hungry but if he coughs, will throw up anything....sigh. I woke up a few hours later still next to the cot, but on a positive note, my migrane was 'manageable', e.g. I managed to get to work, but was not too 'cheerful'. (Oh, OH took LO to his bed, but didn't complain about me to me this am -- guess I looked terrible!)

LO is being fussy as we speak, so must give bottle and see if he will take a nap.

byeeeeeee!

 

[clio]

Rowan--congrats on your c/s date. Now we ALL know when to get excited for little Michael, too! Sounds great that you have everything all set up, as well. Must feel good.

Storm--I totally agree with you that this age is awesome. Thing is, since we hit 3 months, every stage has been awesome! I used to look yearningly at his really cute 3 month pics, but then look at him now and my heart melts. Until he runs over and wipes his snotty nose on me. Again.

J has his around 7th snotty nose since he's been born, but only once has he had any other bad symptoms. He even is just fine with the snotty nose--sleeps well, eats well, no extra sleepiness or grumpiness. Do you guys get this as well? It lasts usually for 3 weeks, and then is gone. Usually all of us have a runny nose and a cough or sneezing at the same time, too, so I guess it's a cold, but it seems so unusual that it's always so mild. I'm beginning to worry that this is something chronic, instead.


Angel--I know it sounds horrible, but I have, for the longest time, experienced the same as you--J will fall asleep better if he's crying. Remember the story I told about him crying intermittently during the beginning of a nap and I knew he wouldn't sleep and needed a proper cry? So I went in, told him to go to sleep and left again, making him cry on purpose. He cried properly for 2 minutes and went down for over 3 hours (space heater). I KNOW it's mean, but it works! In order to assuage my guilt over being mean, could this be considered a form of CC?

Oh, and I love, love, love your pics of your beautiful boys! Keep them coming, please! I've got to take more of J that aren't just throwaways. But he's too fast for me to catch these days, so the picture is always blurry.

Borboleta--your poor OH. Does it worry you, too? If worse comes to worst, do you have the option of working full-time instead?

My husband's inability to put J down for a nap is driving me nuts. He keeps putting him down too early (there are always a number of factors, but the main one is: how long has he been up? If it's less than 2 hours, the boy is not ready for bed, no matter what other signs he shows, unless he cries.) This morning I was awoken at 6:45 am because OH thought this was a good nap time(????). He also decided that it was CIO nap time, and appears to be completely incapable of recognizing when CIO simply ain't working, and is, instead, waking your wife who NEEEEEDS the sleep (I know--you're all rolling your eyes, but I've just come off of a very, very long insomnia kick and am finally sleeping again. It's been quite worrisome for both family and doctors for a long while...) I brought J back down again, and the boy wasn't ready to nap for another hour and a half. And, since I brought him up this time, he knew I wasn't coming for him if he cried like he does for Dad, so he quietly fell asleep.

Okay, got to go lecture. Bye!

 

[kosh]

angel - your boys are gorgeous!!!

 

[Borboleta]

Clio: my OH has a hard time putting thiago down too. I am the one that normally rocks him to sleep and wakes up at night to putting back down, so once in a while he wants to do it and thiago just gives him a hard time. then I just come and take over.

And sounds like OH might get some contractor work from his last boss !! They were like cat and dog but he needs glen's help or misses him so he might get some work out of them again . Which is good for him and for us . But he has an interview set up for the beggining of February with a big oil company here and I pray that they like!!! It would be a great company to work for. And as me working full time, I graduated in Brasil in music therapy but never got my license to work here. So I would need to get that first and then look for a job which hopefully by them OH will have a job . I was even thinking about checking some websites about maybe managing a fitness team for a bigger size gym but I wonder if that would take me from my own business. I think I should explore the idea a little more.

Leeze: I love the pictures of you guys on fb. Kia is soooo cute. And I couldnt imagine going on a 7 hour train trip with thiago!!! Although hopefully at the end of the year we can go to Brasil and that will be about 10 hour flight .

Storm: I agree with you too that they are much more fun now then when they are newborns. I am just not looking forward to when they are teenagers !!

Rowan: for c section date. That is so cool that your parents are going to help too. And I am sure you are getting a little anxious about having two little ones but somehow you will manage.

Sabrina: so sorry about Finn and his cough. Thiago has done that to me too when I gave him a bottle and he vomit all of it on me and when I gave him Tylenol too . Lovely times!!! I have a chair in the living room that I told OH that it will the chair that we will sit with him when his tummy is not doing so well. But until now he has vomited in his rocker chair in his room twice. But him and I were the ones that took more of the damage. My OH has not gotten vomited yet. I will love to see that !!! Or maybe not because than I might have extra vomit to clean .

Angel: as I told on Facebook I think the boys have your pretty eyes. They just have a deep quality about them. And it does amazes me that some babies just sleep. They are by the book. I new this little baby girls that she would go to sleep at 8pm and wake up at 8 am then take 2 naps 2 hours each!!! Sight!!! I don't need to say anything else, do I?

Thiago is being good babbling more and learned how to wave goodbye. So cute. He loves the thermostat . Smiles to it everytime we pass by it . He is still waking up once during the night and wakes up around 6:30am now a days! I have not done CC in a while with him. I should but don't know why I just don't do it.

Talk to you ladies later.

Kosh and Charlie .

 

[SabrinaKat]

clio -- Finn seems to have colds/runny noses off and on; I read in What to Expect - The First Year, that it's typical for LOs to have 8-10 colds per year. In our case, LO gets a cough, which can produce a little vomit, but worse, he will wake up around 1-2am with a cough that you or I would simply drink some water and then, hopefully, turn over and get back to sleep in a few minutes (hence the literal rejection last night of OH's offer of a bottle), but as he's so young, will get a bit fussy.

rowan - great news on c/section date -- I will post a few things to you the week after next (post offices are usually closed on the weekends here, so in the current rain/snow, don't feel like trudging through to the post office with LO in his stroller)!

Borboleta -- I can imagine how frustrating the whole work/money situation is. Is there any other jobs that your OH might be interested in? Or, is he/you guys definitely settled in Houston, e.g. or is the economy (and house situation) that you are pretty much stuck? (In Ireland, we're in negative equity house-wise and my OH saved for 10 years to afford a place, so if we moved, we'd lose loads of money....)

angel - also love the pictures! re: naps - some days Finn will take an afternoon nap, others, he won't. It is frustrating as it's my only real me-time all day (except for the commute on the bus to and/from work), but it's such hard work when he doesn't and when I'm tired myself and would love a few minutes to myself (well, I do a little housework, so it's not watching Jeremy Kyle and eating bon-bons, as my OH seems to think), it's so hard to be 'patient mummy'.....

Leeze - nice to see you here, but love Kia's pictures on FB !

storm - I love the Wizard of Oz shoes in the fb picture!

kosh - nice to see the uber mummy of the thread and love the pictures of Gael!

charlie and skweek -

hope all is well with LO, clairey!

I can't believe I have time for personals...wow (hope I didn't forget anybody!)?

oh, Borboleta - Finn is now trying to walk with Daddy's help and kicking a soft ball like T -- it's so cute!

OH has LO properly tonight, so I think I'll go crazy and....go to bed by 10.30.

bye!!!!! (and sleep dust to all!)

 

[Borboleta]

Sabrina: 10:30pm? That is late !! I go to bed at 9:30pm the latest !!!
I would love to see a video of Finn kicking the ball. Thiago is still obsessed with then. We went to a store today and in the from they had these big red balls so no one can park the car in the area and thiago was in heaven trying to move the ball which off course it didn't happen .
And we could move to another city if a job opportunity would come along, but we would need to sell the house and stuff. He has loads of experience with sales and marketing so you would imagine that he could get something quick . My MIL said that she knows another man that was umemployed for 1 1/2 years and he was an engineer!! And my neighbor was unemployed for about 9 months. Tough times.

Question: how much milk is your LO taking? Thiago drinks about 6 bottles 6 ounces each so about 32 ounces a day. Of course sometimes he doesn't finish the bottle so I could say for sure he drink about 27 ounces. Maybe that is the reason why he doesn't eat much food.

 

[clio]

Rowan--I totally forgot to thank you for all of those great links! I wish the Usborne books were more popular in Canada--just one costs $17!

Borboleta--what kind of music do you do with musical therapy? Do you play an instrument? Would it be hard to get accredited in Texas? Maybe you should become a personal trainer! Edmonton has lots of oil jobs going on right now, too, if you wish to come up to the Great White North... But I hope your OH gets his old job back.

SK--oh wow--I would have killed my OH if he had done that with the lights! I'm sorry you're feeling so rotten, and that F still isn't 100%.

Leeze--I'm glad you had such a good time! But seven hours? The most I've done was 5 hours on a plane, when J couldn't even sit up on his own yet. The next time we fly, which I hope will be in the next few months because I want to see my niece, I can just imagine all the trouble he's going to get into. I'm wondering if we may just have to buy him a seat, too, and put a carseat in there. There is no way he'd let me hold him for 5 hours straight.

Okay, when you guys say "throw up," is it like spit up, or like real vomit, which smells and has chunks in it? I've always wondered.

Okay, have to get J up from a nap which he is absolutely refusing to take.